The Lost Salamander
by digemsmack
Summary: It's been four long years since the mage of Fairy Tail, Natsu Dragneel, also known as the Salamander went missing and wasn't heard from. That is until now, and he is no longer the lovable mage that everyone knew, now he only has one thought on his mind and that is revenge and no one will stop him until he completes it. Darker Natsu, Smarter Natsu, and Disclaimer I do not own Fairy
1. The End and the Beginning

Chapter 1: The End and the Beginning

A man about the age of twenty six staggered out of the lower levels of his guild coughing and gasping for air that wasn't full of smoke, which was not likely considering the fire was everywhere. He had a light skin complexion that would have been flawless, if it hadn't been for the recent burns that he received. The clothing that he was wearing was nothing special, some standard black shoes and pants and a plain orange shirt, but what he took pride in was his cloak. The cloak was one of the ways that people could tell that he was part of his guild, it was standard issue for all mages of his guild and as you rose through the ranks you got a different color representing your status. He was currently at the second highest color that his guild had, meaning he was one of their best's but right now that meant jack shit to him.

Their guild hall was now looking like it had gone through a war, well you wouldn't call what happened to them a war it was more of a one-sided slaughter. There was smoke and fire everywhere, tables and chairs we smashed and destroyed, nothing was spared from the disaster that took place here moments ago. But the worst by far was the carnage that he was now seeing; all of his friends that he gotten to know over the last few years, gone, just like that they were all gone and only he remained. He could see the blood splattered all over the place, random appendages thrown around the room, just at the sight of that made him want to vomit, but what was worse was seeing the scared faces of his guild members and friends as they died. Their faces were frozen in their last expressions which were in complete agony and pain.

But all of this was small compared to what he smelt; the best way for him to describe it was death. He could smell the blood sweat and tears that were shed in here, mixed with the smell of piss and shit, which happened sometimes when people died. But the one that was the strongest was the smell of burnt hair and skin, the smell of someone burning alive was one of the worst smells that he ever smelt in his life. Just looking at the charred corpses scattered about with the rest of the carnage made him realize that there was no way to really identify who the victims were.

But all that really mattered to him right now was getting out of here while he still had the chance, he felt like complete shit for hiding while all of his fellow guild members fought for their lives while he hid in a storage room. But he was determined that he was going to survive this, if not for himself than for his friends that died for him. So he kept low to the ground where the smoke was not as thick and crawled his way toward the exit of his guild hall. He was only ten yards away from it when he heard the one thing that he was hoping to never hear again in his life.

"Where do you think you're going bub, did you really think that I didn't notice you hiding in that storage closet." said a voice that was deep and gravelly. All the man on the floor could to was gulp and wait to see what this monster had planned for him.

"I have special plans for you bub, first you are going to help me move all of the bodies outside. Then after we are done with that you are going to march your sorry ass to the nearest Council building and confess to them all of your crimes and the crimes of your worthless guild, and don't worry there is plenty of evidence left here." growled out the man as he now stood in front of man still on the floor. He looked up at the one man, more like monster, that did all of this to his guild and could only see his red eyes glaring down at him because of the thick smoke.

"Y-y-yes S-sir." whimpered the man on the floor.

"Good to hear but actually I just thought up of something you have to do before you turn yourself in. It's actually pretty simple you are going to give an interview to Sorcerer's Weekly about what just happened here, after which you will then promptly turn yourself in otherwise I will find you and skin you alive. But before that I have to do something to you so I know you won't try anything funny." said the man standing in the smoke as if it wasn't even there.

"W-what are y-you g-g-going to do to m-m-me?" he stuttered out while looking up at the nightmare of his dreams.

"I am going to take your magic away from you." replied the man having a huge grin spread across his face showing his pearly whites at the man on the floor.

He looked up at him with complete terror, how was this monster going to do something like that to him. As far as he knew the man before him never had any power like that, but then again a few minutes ago he was their prisoner and had been that way for four years now. He shouldn't have been able break out of his cell especially with him wearing magic suppressing cuffs and also magic draining ones, but that was clearly wrong since he was standing before him now glaring as him with unmatched furry and rage in those red eyes of his.

As the man, bent down to pick him up and do whatever he was going to do to take away his magic, all he could do is think back to what caused all of this to happen. How long ago did all of this happen he really couldn't tell because to him it felt like a lifetime ago.

 **Flashback to before it started:**

"So today is the day." stated a member of the guild.

"Yes it is boys, today is the day that we finally break that beast we have had locked up in our dungeon for the past four years." cheered a different member.

"What's so special about today, I mean he hasn't cracked after all of the torture and experiments that we have done to him." said another member.

"Yea he didn't crack after we even brought in one of his old friends and started to torture her in front of him. If anything it made it even harder for us to get even a grunt out of him." pointed out a different member.

"Oh so some of you guys didn't know about the long game that Master put into effect last year." said the first member to talk.

"No we didn't." replied a few members.

"Oh man, then you are going to love this." said the member who just spoke before.

"So you know that friend that we brought, the main reason we brought her and put her with him was so that they would become extremely close to one another. Eventually they would start relying on one another so that they could still make it through this terrible ordeal." he explained with an evil smirk spread all across his face.

"Yea that makes sense, but why on earth would Master want to do that, it sounds like we are helping him by do that?" asked a member.

"Yes it did help him, but it once again made him start feeling things that he gave up on ever feeling again when we captured him. And now that he has them, we are going to destroy them by killing that girl right in front of him, HAHAHAHA. I only wish that I could be there to watch it when it happens but I guess I will have to watch the recordings of it." answered the member with a huge smile.

"That seems too cruel even for us." stated one of their few female members.

"Yea I can't even imagine how terrible that is going to be for him. It wouldn't surprise me if he becomes a shell that doesn't even feel pain after that, his brain will probably just give out." said another one of their female members with a frown.

"Will you chicks shut up; you didn't care about anything else that we did to him while he was here. Actually all of you even help with it, so why is this becoming such a big deal to you?" asked a male member.

"Because this is messing with his heart, and that is something that I personally don't want to toy with." said a female member.

"But torturing is fine with you, man I will never understand women." replied a male member. But then the guild all heard and felt a roar that shook the guild, causing all of the members to cover their ears do to the loudness of it. Finally the roar stopped after a few long seconds.

"It seems like they just did it, and if I have to guess that was the roar of a broken man." said a member with a big grin.

"We did it, he's now broken for sure. So let's party." another member shouted. Causing the rest of the guild to follow suit and start celebrating so loudly that they couldn't hear what was going on down stairs. They were all having a really good time for five minutes, until a member crashed through the basement doors and landed on the middle of the floor.

Everyone was shocked at what the saw, he was missing his right arm and all that remained was a charred stump. The rest of his right side was severely burned and his cloak was actually still on fire. His face looked like he had been smashed repeatedly into the wall over and over again, but that wasn't all. They could see his bone jutting out of forearm, and when they looked at his left leg it looked like his foot was snapped clean off. But the part that scared all of the members the most was when they figured out who this completely destroyed man was, it was their Master.

"Run you fools." he said while coughing up blood.

"Too late for that old man." said a deep and gravelly voice from the stairs, causing all of the members to look and see a man completely covered in blood and gore standing there. His red eyes that were the exact same color as the blood covering him, but what scared them the most were those eyes paired with that creepy smile.

"What the…" said the member that was earlier bragging the most, but was cut off by the blood drenched man appearing next to him and grabbing his throat. The next thing the guild new there was a loud snap and their members' lifeless body dropped to the ground.

"Who's next?" asked the man staring at the guild that captured him four years ago and had been experimenting on him and torturing him daily ever since. The next moment the guild went into complete chaos, spells were being casted haphazardly around not caring it they hit their friends all they cared about was trying to keep that man away from themselves. This was the best outcome that the man could have hoped for, being able to use this chaos to his advantage dismembering members to put them out of commission while also spreading the fear and chaos.

After a few more moments he was the last man standing, the guild members that were here were either dead or lying on the ground unable to fight back. So he went over to one of the injured and smashed his skull in, shocking all of the injured members, thinking that they were just going to be going to jail.

"W-what are you doing, he couldn't fight you?" asked an injured female member.

"Your point, that same thing just happened to my friend moments ago. She couldn't do anything about it, but that didn't stop you bastards from slitting her throat right in front of me." shouted the man as he came over to the women who spoke.

"But we weren't part of that." she stuttered as the man came closer to her.

"Weren't part of it HAHAHAHA, every single member here was part of it. Yes maybe you didn't actually cut her throat but you are part of this guild and now must all pay for what your Master did." declared the man as he then lit the women on fire, shocking the rest of the injured as they listened to her screams of agony until they finally stopped.

"Man was that sweet music to my ears." said the man with a sick smile on his face.

"How are you doing this, Fairy Tail mages don't kill, no matter what?" asked a member who had to ask, knowing that no matter what he was going to die.

"HAHAHA I stopped being a mage of Fairy Tail a long time ago. You guys were the ones that saw to that." replied the man laughing like a mad man and then pointing to his right shoulder were his guild mark used to be, which just a bunch of scars now.

"Losing you guild mark doesn't mean you aren't one of them." stammered out the member as the man stalked over to him with an expression that sent chills down his spine.

"I would have agreed with you a few months ago but things have changed. I think I am going to keep you around a little longer since you seem like someone I could talk to, but I have to make sure that you don't try anything." said the man with a big grin as he then proceeded to snap both his wrists and ankles, making it impossible for him to do anything but scream in pain as he watch the man continue on his path of destruction.

"You're a monster, worse than any of us." shouted out a man, this caused everyone else to think that he had a death wish which he might have.

"HAHAHAHA I could argue with you how I am only killing other killers and rapists who shouldn't be alive, but that would be a waste of my time. Yes I am now a monster, but a monster that you all created. A monster that is now going to kill every last one of you and after which I am going to go to the next guild like yours and do the exact same thing. And as for being worse than you guys, come on, you all tried to act like you weren't murders, rapists, and thieves. But you can only pretend for so long, you guys thought it would be fun to use me as a test subject for whatever you wanted and now see what that got you." said the man in his deep gravelly voice.

"You…" replied the man but was stop by the man jamming his hand into his mouth.

"I don't want to hear your voice anymore." growled the man and then ripped the tongue out of his mouth and threw it at a different member who was still alive.

"Well I am getting bored so let's speed this up shall we." said the man as he then ignited four other member on fire, causing them to scream out in pain.

"Oh god, oh god, please someone save us." begged a member curled up into the fetal position.

"God can't even help you now, and no one will be able to save you. So sit back and enjoy the show bubby." whispered the man into the members' ear and then threw him into one of the pillars.

"Why is this happening?" asked a member in a faint whisper.

"This is happening because you guys finally got what you wanted. You broke me and this is what you got, I bet none of you saw this coming now did you." boomed the man, shocking the member that he was able to hear him.

"Now before your Master there passed out he was ever so gracious to tell me that your guild has a total of seventy five members. He would have told me all of their names but I got a little carried away with my form of interrogation. So I am going to be a nice guy here and if you guys give me the names of all of your guild members I will kill you quickly and not make it painfully drawn out." said the man as he looked at all of the members with a sick smile.

"Why would we sell out our friends?" asked a member who was then screaming in pain as his foot caught on fire and wasn't going out.

"He does make a good point, but guess what I already know each and every one of your scents. This is all so that I could get to them faster, so unless you want to join mister I won't sell out my friends even though they would do it in a second if it saved their life. I would start giving me names of the members that weren't here today, there should be about twenty." said the man loudly over the member whose foot was being burned off and could only scream in agony.

The remaining members quickly started to give him names and even addresses of where their fellow guild members lived. The man got all of the names and a whole lot of information that he really didn't need to know in the last ten minutes. By that time the place was starting to fill up with smoke.

"Thanks guys this will really help me, and I am still a man of my word so you will all receive a quick death." said the man as he lit his hand on fire which was blood red and then punctured the guild member's heart with a quick jab. He did this until it was just the Master, the man that he broke his wrists and ankles, and the guy who lost his foot to a fire that couldn't be put out.

"So what do I do with you guys?" asked the man getting no response.

"I could let you guys stay here as I hunt down, it smells like four of your friends that are hiding in the building. You know what that sounds like a good idea, now I don't want either of you running away on me. HAHAHAHA like either of you could even walk much less run." laughed the man as he disappeared into the smoke that was getting thicker.

"Why did I ever join a guild like this?" asked the man who lost his foot.

"Because you were a fucked up bastard like the rest of use." replied the other member.

"But I wasn't when I first joined." said the footless guild member.

"Yea none of us were really that bad when we joined, but with the Master and everyone else being that way it quickly turns you into one." answered the member while then hearing a blood curdling scream and then nothing.

"What have we done, no one deserved what we put that man through." said the footless man as he crawled over to a different guild members body.

"We broke him like he said, and now because of it, people like us will start to be hunted and killed until either he dies or there isn't any of our kind left. What are you trying to do?" said the man looking at his footless friend digging into the pockets of one of their friends.

"Looking for this." he replied triumphantly as he pulled out a knife.

"HAHAHA what are you going to accomplish with that?" asked the other member as the heard another scream.

"I am going to get it where I don't have to look at what we created." said the member as he slit his own throat with a creepy smile on his face and then died with it still there, the whole thing shocked his guild member for a few seconds until he realized that he would have done the same thing if he could have.

"AAAAHHHHH" screamed out the guild Master as he regained consciousness and was in severe pain.

"I didn't expect you to ever wake back up Master." said the only other man alive in that hellish room.

"Is he gone?" chocked out the Master.

"Why in the hell would you think that we would be that lucky?" asked the man.

"You have a point there, so where is he?" wheezed out the Master who was in immense pain.

"Killing the cowards and that is probably the last one." replied the man as another scream was heard in the middle of his answer.

"I never would have guessed this to happen in a million years." said the Master through clenched teeth because of the pain.

"So what happened down there, it would kind of be nice to know who to curse for letting him out, before I die?" asked the man.

"That's the thing; he shouldn't have been able to get out. All of the stuff that has kept him here for the past four years was all fine and working correctly. But after we killed her in front of him none of that mattered, he let out that roar and then killed everyone except for me in a few minutes. It was insane how strong he became, we couldn't even give him a scratch." said the Master with a lot of difficulty.

"The same thing happened up here, as you can see it was a blood bath." the member chuckled while looking at his Master.

"Well looks like you two have had enough time to chat it up, and it appears that your friend over there took the cowards way out." said the man while glaring at them with his read eyes through the smoke.

"He didn't want to look at you again." replied the guild member.

"AHAHAH and that is why I kept you a live this long I knew that you would give me another laugh today. Most people would have been too scared to say that to me." replied the man after laughing a bit.

"Well we both know that I am going to die today so why be afraid?" responded the member with a little smirk.

"Good point, well it was fun having this last chat but I have more prey to hunt down." replied the man as he stabbed the member though his chest with a flame coated hand.

"So mister guild Master, I was hoping that you had something that you really loved so that I could kill it in front of you. But as far as I could tell, what you loved was what you did to me and my friend. And I am not going to kill myself in front of you, that would be just stupid and I have so much more work to do." said the man as he crouched down towards the Master.

"So what are you going to do to me?" asked the Master barely able to speak.

"Well I am first going to congratulate you on being the person that caused the downfall of your kind. And don't worry I made sure that all of that incriminating evidence is still safe, with the exceptions of a few things. So soon the whole world will know that because of you and what you did to me, the common citizens will soon be able to sleep easier knowing that your kind will be the ones cowering in fear, trying to bide their time until I show up. As for what I am going to do I think that burning you from the inside out while still alive seems like an okay punishment, not the best but like I told your friend I have other prey to hunt down." said the man still drenched in blood as he did exactly what he told the Master, that he was going to do. After which he started to scavenge useful things from the guild hall that wasn't in any danger of collapsing since he put out all of the fires except for the main hall. The whole time he was waiting for the last member to come out so that he could do a few more things and be done with this place for good.

 **End of Flashback:**

"AAAAAAHHHH" screamed the guild member while clutching his chest from the place that the monster put his hand.

"What the hell is happening to me?" asked the guild member who was now in tremendous amounts of pain. It felt like he literally had a fire burning on the inside of him and could do nothing to stop it.

"Does it feel like your insides are on fire?" asked the man with a smirk.

"Yes" gasped out the member while still in tons of pain.

"Don't worry bub, it will be done after your magic is gone, but don't worry this is not like when a mage loses all of magic and dies from magic deprivation. No that can't happen with what I am doing, in this case since you will no longer have a container, or whatever it's called, that holds your magic." explained the man with a smug grin.

"But how?' asked the member still in pain.

"Simple, I put my fire into you and now it is eating away at your magic and container. Once it gets going nothing can stop it not even me, like I would ever do that HAHAHA." replied the man and laughing at the end of it.

"How did we not know about this?" asked the man still in disbelief.

"Simple, you are the first person I have used it on. The only reason I didn't do it before was due to the fact that back then there was no way I would ever be able to inflict this much pain onto someone. I mean this is pretty much torture, but hey, what goes around comes around." answered the man still smiling like a mad man. The last guild member in the guild was in pain for another ten minutes until it finally stopped.

"So it's done, alright now give your magic a test run. I want to make sure that it works the way I thought it would." demanded the man, which the member tried to do, but couldn't do anything. He couldn't feel his magic like he used to, in its place was just nothing and if felt so wrong to him, something that he has had his whole life was just now taken away from him.

"I can't do anything." said the member with his head down too terrified to look at the man who single handily took out his guild.

"Good to hear now start stacking the bodies outside I have some things to still do. Oh and if you do run, even the toughest prison won't stop me from skinning you alive. Oh and if you happen to get done moving the bodies before I come back, then you can go to that interview. While doing that interview tell them whatever you want, the only thing that you have to tell them is that I am going to becoming for your kind. It doesn't matter who you are or where you live, I will find you and then we'll let's just say it won't be pretty." said the man as he headed into the guild to do who knows what.

"Will do Sir." replied the terrified ex-mage as he went to work.

 **Two hours later:**

"Well I am done moving the bodies out here, so I am now free to go do that interview and then turn myself in." thought the ex-mage as he started to head to the town that was two miles away. After the short walk to the town he borrowed someone's communication lacrima to call the Sorcerer's Weekly office.

"Hi is this Sorcerer's Weekly?" asked the ex-mage.

"Yes it is how may, I help you?" asked the lady on the other end.

"I have a story that you will want to know about." replied the ex-mage.

"And what would be the main topic of this story?" asked the lady.

"It would be about my old guild and where the Salamander has been for the last four years." answered the ex-mage whose only thought was to make sure that he did exactly as the Salamander told him, because he would happily spend the rest of his life in jail then ever see that man again.

"Are you serious?" asked the Lady excitedly, knowing how big this would be if it was true.

"Yes, he wanted me to have an interview with you guys before I do something else." replied the ex-mage.

"We can get a reporter out to you in the next hour, is that okay sir?" asked the lady.

"Absolutely, I have all of the time in the world." replied the ex-mage as he gave the lady all of the information that she would need to get someone to him.

 **End of Chapter:**

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Thanks for reading and I hoped you enjoyed this grim story of mine. Now the main reason that I decided to make this story is because I have read a few stories about Natsu getting captured and then pretty much being turned into a helpless animal. Which I will admit is probably the most likely outcome of such a situation, but I thought why not go the other way with it where he now become an animal that is on the hunt and won't stop until he wipes them off of the face of the earth. Now I know that a lot of the stuff in his chapter was left ambiguous but that was done on purpose, I plan on doing flash back to when Natsu was in there. I also plan on eventually reveling who his friend was that died in front of him, I have a few ideas for that but am still open for suggestions. So as always feel free to leave me a review.**

 **Until the next Chapter**

 **Digem Out!**


	2. The Scene of the Crime

Chapter 2: The Scene of the Crime

 **A few hours after the Salamander's escape:**

"Oh my lord, what happened here Captain?" asked a Rune Knight as they came upon the guild.

"Well according to that mage that turned himself in, they had the Salamander locked up in their basement this whole time. And they were supposedly doing all sorts of things to him, and apparently today he got out. And as you can see it would appear that he took matters into his own hands." said the Captain as he looked at the bodies outside of the guild.

"But wasn't this guild a legal guild Captain?" asked the Knight.

"Yes it was soldier, but apparently that was a huge mistake by the council, but we first need to find evidence that they are not. It is actually probably one of the reasons that Salamander's friends didn't find him. They never would have thought to look into legal guilds, they all assumed that it was a Dark Guild, which they were correct about it if what that mage said is true." replied the Captain while still looking at the bodies with an eyebrow raised.

"Why are you still staring at the bodies Captain?" asked the Knight noticing that his Captain was looking at them very intently.

"Look at all of the bodies, while not focusing on a specific one." said the Captain.

"Okay Captain but I really don't know what you expect me to see. Wait a minute what the hell is that?" replied the Knight as he took a few steps back.

"That soldier, at least in my opinion is supposed to be a dragon in the shape of the letter S." said the Captain while itching behind his right ear.

"Captain I have never seen pictures of dragons having that long of bodies." stated the Knight.

"That doesn't surprise me, apparently there are some that used to look that way but they apparently stayed in the countries east of here. This is why you wouldn't know about them, I only know because I had a friend actually move out there and he sent me a history book from there. And it had all sorts of interesting things in it, but the picture of the dragon stuck out to me since they were so different from our dragons." explained the Captain.

"Why would anybody do such a thing with the bodies?" asked the Knight while looking at the supposed dragon.

"If I would have to guess, it would be a message or maybe some sort of calling card. I really hope that it isn't the latter otherwise things are going to get pretty hectic fast." answered the Captain while shaking his head.

"And why is that Captain?" asked the Knight not really seeing the difference between the two.

"Simple soldier, if it is a calling card then that means more people are going to die." stated the Captain, but got cut off from saying any more since another Rune Knight came up to him from the guild, escorting a man.

"Captain, as we started to search the guild we found this reporter in there. Snooping around, obviously trying to get the inside scoop on this story. What do you want me to do with him?" asked the new Knight.

"Are you sure that he is a reporter and not one of the members of the guild?" asked the Captain.

"He has all the correct paperwork Sir, and he would have to be the stupidest member to stay in this hell hole." replied the Knight that was still holding the reporter in place.

"Did you search him, this is still an ongoing investigation?" asked the Captain as he eyed the reporter.

"We did Captain, and all he had on him was his camera." stated the Knight as he held up the camera.

"Good, we will be confiscating that since this is still under investigation. Also how did you even know about this happening?" asked the Captain as he got right up in the reporter's face.

"That mage, no that is no longer correct, that ex-mage who came to you and turned himself in. He first came to me to give the whole story of what happened. I am pretty sure he only did it, since the Salamander told him to do it and didn't want to die like the rest of his friends." answered the reporter.

"What do you mean ex-mage?" asked the Captain.

"Exactly like it sounds, actually you are correct that could kind of be confusing since that is the same thing you would call a mage that has gone into retirement. What I mean is that he can no longer use magic, the Salamander took it away from him, and I actually think that was the only thing that he wouldn't tell. And man did I want to know how the Salamander did that." replied the reporter with a big grin.

"You're saying that the Salamander can take away someone's magic?" asked one of the Knights.

"Well that is what your new prisoner told me." said the reporter.

"I would like to see what else he said to you." commanded the Captain, leaving no other option for the reporter except for doing as he was told.

"I will get you a copy as soon as I get back to my hotel room." answered the reporter now a little nervous of the Captain.

"Good we will have a Knight escort you there immediately." said the Captain motioning to the Knight that brought him to be the one to escort him away, but was once again interrupted.

"Captain, I have really bad news. So far every member of this guild that we tried to get, either wasn't there, or turned up as a corpse.

"How many so far?" asked the Captain with a frown.

"About twenty Sir." replied the Knight.

"Did you find a weird S mark with them?" asked the reporter that was still there.

"Actually we did, how did you know that?" said the Knight.

"I just had a hunch, based on what the mage told me about Salamander, that is his calling card. It is a safe bet that all of the guild members of this guild are dead except for the one you already have in your custody. And he is only alive to spread the word." replied the report.

"The word of what?" asked one of the Knights.

"The return of the Salamander." said the reporter dramatically.

"For real?" asked the Knight that just arrived and looked like he was excited about the news.

"Yes, but not how he once was, the man Natsu Dragneel died in this godforsaken hell hole. And now all that remains is the Salamander, and it is clear from what we saw here that he has a new mission in his life." replied the reporter with a frown.

"And what do you think that would be?" asked the Knight that was supposed to escort him away.

"To destroy all Dark Guilds and anyone that is helping them, no matter who they are and whatever they do in their normal life." replied the reporter.

"And how do you know this?" asked the Captain, who was extremely upset that this reporter who seemed to know more than him.

"The interview with that ex-mage, which we will go get for you now." said the report as he walked off, being followed by a Rune Knight.

"You don't think he's right, do you Captain?" asked the Knight that was excited about the news of the Salamander returning.

"I don't know soldier, we are going to have to find out for ourselves." replied the Captain as he went into the guild. The first thing he noticed that it was a complete disaster in the main room. Blood splattered everywhere, along with burn marks all over as well, some of them in the shape of bodies. The smell was also extremely terrible, you could smell burnt bodies and it sent a shiver down his spine, knowing that a few of the members were burned alive.

"Oh there you are Captain. I have a few things that you need to see, the first is this list of names." said the Knight as he led the Captain over to the wall and showed him a piece of paper that had seventy five names on it and was held up by a knife. The first name was the name of the man that turned himself in and right next to it said lone survivor. And under his name was the name of the guild Master with it crossed out and said pile of ashes with an arrow pointing to the floor.

When he looked down there was indeed a pile of ashes which made every single person who read that part shiver after seeing said pile. Underneath his name were the names of the entire guild, with all but the last twenty names crossed out. With a little note to the side saying, not gone yet but will be by the time anyone reads this.

"Well it seems that the reporter was correct about that." said the Captain while shaking his head.

"Sorry Captain, but this was not even the worst part. The basement of this guild is like a research facility slash torture chamber. And they have a lot of recordings and notes on what they were doing; and it appears that whoever did this to the guild took some of the files and recordings with them. And who knows what else they took before they left." the Knight informed the Captain.

"Have you looked at any of the recordings?" asked the Captain.

"We only looked at one and stopped because honestly we couldn't stand watching it Sir." replied the Knight.

"And why is that soldier?" asked the Captain surprised that they stopped watching, his men had all seen actual battle which was one of the worst things to actually witness and take part of.

"They were torturing someone, and it was pretty brutal, but the worst was watching the joy that these, sick fucks got out of doing it." spat out the Knight with pure hatred at what he saw.

"Who were they torturing?" asked the Captain wanting to know if it was indeed Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail.

"Well Sir, they were actually smart and never used any names in their records. He was apparently subject 7, but the personal files pertaining to him are missing as are subject 8's. It appears that they were the last two that this sick guild was messing with, and it appears that subject 7 had been here for four years." replied the Knight.

"Shit, take me to where all of this is at, and what was subject 7's hair color?" asked the Captain as he followed the Knight to the basement. Noticing on the way that apparently down here was a warzone just like upstairs, except for it looked like it was somehow even more brutal. At least from judging the blood and holes made in the walls.

"His hair was pink Captain, which is quite the unique hair color." stated the Knight.

"Fuck, I was really hoping that someone was just using his name." said the Captain with a pissed off expression.

"Do you know who he is Captain?" asked the Knight as he led him into a room filled with lacrima recordings and files upon files.

"I know who he is, more like who he was; subject 7 is most likely Natsu Dragneel aka the Salamander of Fairy Tail. And that is the problem, Fairy Tail is going to become a huge problem for us after they find out." stated the Captain as he started to peruse through some of the files.

"Why would they become a problem for us Captain?" asked the Knight.

"Well first off a legal guild did all of this right under our noses, and to make it worse they took a member of Fairy Tail. And they will do anything for their members; they are still looking for Mr. Dragneel right now. But the main problem is that they are going to demand that they be allowed to see this and are probably will to do anything in order to find out what happened. Even if they had to go to war with the council." explained the Captain.

"But that would be incredibly stupid of them, we could crush them in a matter of seconds." replied the Knight with a lot of confidence.

"AHAHAHAH man you really don't know Fairy Tail at all do you. They alone would give the Council and us a good run for our money; they have probably some of the strongest mages out there that aren't Wizard Saints. And the reason that they aren't Saints is because of their destructive tendencies which would be a terrible role model for new mages." explained the Captain while chuckling at the fact that they were in a terrible spot right now.

"Well we could then just get the other guilds to help us out." suggested the Knight.

"Man you must be really new. Yes that would be a really good idea if this situation didn't deal with Natsu Dragneel and Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail has better relations with all of the other guilds than the council does, of course they would never want to drag another guild along with them while opposing the Council. But they won't even have to ask for it or be able to stop the other guilds once they figure out that this involves Natsu Dragneel." said the Captain who now seemed like he found something interesting.

"Why would that be so significant, Natsu Dragneel being a part of this that is?" asked the Knight.

"Well I guess since he was here for the last four years I shouldn't be that surprised that you don't know him. Well to put it simple that mage alone saved our country a few times, while also stopping disasters that would have killed thousands of people. He also was one of the main reasons why all of the other guilds became so friendly and supportive of Fairy Tail, on numerous occasions he saved the lives of mages from different guilds by putting his life on the line so that they could survive. And when you do that over and over again you are going to get people that feel like they owe you something." explained the Captain.

"Okay, then it seems like the logical choice would be to let Fairy Tail come here and investigate for themselves." replied the Knight.

"Yes it would, but when has the Council done the logical choice when dealing with Fairy Tail. I will give you a hint, never, which is why we are in a shitty spot." said the Captain with a smile.

"You got that right." said the Knight now understanding how bad this situation had become.

"Wait, what if it isn't Natsu Dragneel?" asked the Knight hopefully.

"You said that he had pink hair, which means it is him. I have never seen another male have pink hair, like his, it was even more famous than his moniker." replied the Captain with a chuckle.

"Shit, hey Captain, how do you know so much about Fairy Tail?" asked the Knight.

"Well I am a supporter of them actually. I was even saved by the Salamander during the whole dragon invasion a few years back." answered the Captain as he started to go through the files in a frenzy.

"Wow you were there during the dragon invasion?" asked the Knight.

"Yep and that was one of the times Natsu saved our country from complete annihilation. When the dragons were attacking, anything and everything that we threw at them did nothing, even the mages from the other guilds couldn't do anything and that included all of the dragon slayers except for one that is. I still don't know how he did it, he was somehow able to get one of the dragons to help him while he dealt with the man from the future and then with one attack he took down both the dragon and the other man. In the process he destroyed the gate that they came through which then got rid of the other dragons." explained the Captain while still searching like a mad man.

"Well that explains why all of the other guilds would stand up for him and try to help him." said the Knight not believing that one mage could do what everyone else couldn't.

"Yea and that is just one of his accomplishments, which he will just laugh at if you talk to him about it or thank him. He's done a lot for this country, okay I can't seem to find anything on this subject 8 except for a few things here and there. It would appear that Natsu Dragneel didn't want anyone knowing much about her, are there any recordings of her?" asked the Captain.

"I can quickly look, but what makes you think that Natsu Dragneel was the one that is hiding who she was?" asked the Knight as he started to look at the labeled lacrima recordings.

"Well I can only assume that it was him because any time that it looks like they are going to give details about subject 8, I come across burn marks or complete holes in the document. And also since the only personal files missing are his and subject 8's which makes it pretty obvious in my opinion that he did it." stated the Captain as he looked over more files.

"It would appear that he also took the recordings of her as well, but it appears that he left some of the group ones." said the Knight as he held up a video lacrima that was labeled 7 and 8 and dated only a few weeks ago.

"Well let's see if we can find out who this mystery girl is." said the Captain as they looked at the screen. What the Captain first saw shocked him, Natsu looked nothing like his old self. He no longer was clean shaven; he had a pink beard that matched the rest of his hair, which was also different. It was no longer the short spiky hair that he was known for, it now resembled what Gajeel's hair looked like going half way down his back. Another thing that he noticed about Natsu was the copious amounts of scars that littered his body, way more than he used to have. He also took notice of the darkness of the skin under his eyes making him look like he hadn't slept for weeks, but the most surprising thing that he noticed was that Natsu Dragneel looked like he had gotten even bigger while imprisoned here. He looked as if he was in peak physical condition if you disregarded all of the scars and wounds that he had.

They watched as Natsu fought with all of his might to try and get to whatever was off screen. The whole time screaming profanities and death threats, at whoever was out of view that if they didn't stop hurting her. He even started to beg for them to do it to him as long as they stopped hurting her. It went on like this for quite a while making both men watching pity Natsu, since they could see how much this was hurting him. Then the camera started to pan over to where Natsu was trying to get to, as it went over you could see the feet of a women strapped onto some sort of table. As it kept panning over you could tell that she was securely strapped in, but unfortunately there were members of the guild in the way. And just as they were about to move out of the way there were red flames and then video stopped.

"What the hell was that?" asked the Knight.

"Well considering that Natsu obviously couldn't use his magic in the video, I would have to guess that it was him once again trying to keep this girl's identity hidden for what reason I have no idea." said the Captain.

"Do we have any idea what happened to her Captain?" asked the Knight.

"I haven't been able to find anything yet." stated the Captain with a frown.

"Well it has to be in here somewhere." replied the Knight.

"True, unless Natsu destroyed all of the records. Okay I want you to make two copies of absolutely everything in this room. One for me so I can continue this investigation and one for the Council." ordered the Captain as he left the room to continue his investigation of the guild.

He then found himself in the room where the video took place; it too was a complete mess just like all of the other room. There was the table that the mystery girl was strapped to and also the cages that Natsu was in, but it was now modified by Natsu. Half of the bars were melted and there was now a big hole in the front of it, on the insides of the cell were the pieces of the magic suppressing cuffs that looked like they were shattered.

Upon closer inspection of the chains that were also attached to Natsu at one point, the Captain realized that they were not suppressing they were actually draining. So Natsu while imprisoned her had both suppressing and draining objects on him, which made the Captain wonder how he was able to actually survive that. It appeared that the draining device that was located behind the wall of the cell, exploded from being overloaded with magic which was supposed to be impossible, but right in front of him was proof that it was wrong.

Seeing enough of the cell that once housed a man that he still deeply respects the Captain continued his search. He found all sorts of poisons and other potions in a cabinet, next to that were a rack and shelf that contained all of the torturing devices that they used. Just the site of them made the Captain want to go outside and start kicking the corpses of the people that would take pleasure in using such devices on other humans.

The rest of the stuff was a few other random things like random magical weapons and other things, such as lacrima's that contained all sorts of different magic such as all of the elemental types and a few others that he couldn't identify by just sight alone. But something caught his eye, and it was that there was a little stand that looked as if it was supposed to hold something valuable in it. When he got up close he read the words dragon lacrima's and his jaw dropped wide open, because it looked as if it used to hold five of them by the indentations in the cushion.

The Captain really wanted to start going through the files and videos now to see what they were trying to do with them. If they actually did anything with them at all, there was a good chance that they didn't and Natsu just took them so that they wouldn't fall into worse hands. He had enough of this guild hall and left while also telling his men that he wanted absolutely all of it photographed and have three copies of them made just like the recordings and files. He decided that it would be a good idea to go and investigate the other bodies that were scattered across the area.

 **Three days Later at Fairy Tail:**

"You guys I have some news about Natsu." said Mira as she walked into the guild with a frown.

"You do, what is it?" asked most of the guild.

"I take it that it isn't the best of news considering that you can't even use your fake smile?" asked Erza who wanted to know as badly as everyone else what happened to their friend.

"Yes, it's most definitely not the happiest. Now this is just bits and pieces of what my friend at Sorcerer's Weekly was able to tell me without risking being fired. She told me that all of it was going to be released by the end of this week and that she was going to send me some of the stuff that they won't be able to publish." said Mira quietly, but that didn't matter because the rest of the guild didn't make a sound.

"Come on Mira you're killing me here." stated Lucy who had changed a lot in the last four years. The biggest was that she now wore more appropriate clothing for a mage that would be battling.

"Okay well supposedly he is still alive." said Mira which got a loud cheer from the guild.

"That's great news onee-chan." said Lisanna as she hugged her sister.

"I am not finished yet." shouted Mira angrily causing the rest to stop their celebration.

"He was indeed captured like we thought; they don't know how it happened either. I asked her how he was treated these last four years and where is he now. She said that she couldn't tell me because it was too terrible at least what she was told anyways, and as for where Natsu is now apparently they don't know." said Mira with a frown.

"So are you saying that he is still captured and who were the ones to have him this whole time?" asked Erza wanting to try and not think about what Natsu went through that Mira's friend didn't even want to spread rumors about it.

"No apparently he is on his own now and escaped from the guild three days ago." said Mira still frowning, which went unnoticed by most because they all started to celebrate thinking that Natsu was going to walk through those doors with that smug grin of his any minute now.

"Quite everyone." shouted Master Makarov being one of the few that saw Mira's frown still present and her saying that it wasn't really good news. Everyone quickly quieted down after the Master's shout.

"Please continue Mira, I know that you have more to tell." said the Master with a tender smile.

"There is, my friend asked me if I had seen Natsu yet and I told her that none of us had. This made her say that she was sorry for asking, which made me ask why. She then told me that apparently that were ever he was being held he would have been able to make it back to us my now. So I of course asked her who had him, and she said that she couldn't give me the name of the guild but she did say that she had important information about them that she could tell." said Mira still frowning at the information that she learned.

"And what is that Mira, I really need to punch Natsu for making us all worry about him this long?" said Grey with a little grin thinking that he would soon have his old rival back.

"Don't you get it Grey, Natsu probably isn't coming back because if he was he should have already been here by now." shouted Mira angrily at him.

"Mira what are you talking about he probably is just walking you know how much he hates transportation." suggested Lucy.

"Yes Lucy he does, but he has always cared about us more. Also I don't think he will ever want to be near a guild again." replied Mira still angry and frowning.

"What do you mean by that Mira?" asked Master Makarov.

"Well this is the part that makes me want to hit someone, but the information about the guild that my friend was able to give me was that the guild that had him was in fact a legal guild." said Mira while shaking with rage that a legal guild did that. As soon as she said that the guild broke out into an uproar shouting profanities and other things, others starting to blame the Council and a few trying to figure out which guild would do something like this.

"Quiet, so Mira do they have these filthy mages under arrest?" asked Master Makarov with rage evident in his voice that his child was being held by a guild that was sanctioned by the Council. He wasn't the only one; almost the entire whole guild was beyond pissed after hearing this, it somehow made it a lot worse than it being a guild that wasn't recognized by the Council.

"My friend told me that they already have one of their members arrested, apparently Natsu forced him to give an interview with one of their reports and after wards had him turn himself in and confess to all of his crimes and the crimes of the guild." explained Mira.

"Wow, leave it to Natsu to get a dark mage to turn himself in willingly." stated Grey, impressed that Natsu was able to accomplish such a feet.

"What about the rest of the members, and how did he actually do that. Most dark mages would fight until they can't stand rather than give up and go to jail." asked Erza.

"This is where she told me that I would have to wait until the end of the week to get all of the details but apparently we don't have to worry about the other members." said Mira still frowning at how bad this situation was.

"What does that even mean, and you still didn't explain why Natsu wouldn't come back here?" asked Lucy.

"Sorry Lucy but I too am really confused, so we are just going to have to wait for the end of the week. As for why he might not come back, think of it this way Lucy for the last four years he has been having who knows what done to him by a guild that the Council was okay with. And not only that, but we weren't able to save him because we didn't even consider that a possibility, when if it had been the other way around I am confident that Natsu would have started to even search the Kings castle by now, not giving a dam who stood in his way." explained Mira almost to the point of tears.

"Mira what you're saying is true, but you also know that Natsu would never blame any of us for what happened to him." said Master Makarov confident that Natsu would never blame them.

"Then why isn't he here Master?" shouted Mira as she broke down and started to cry. Natsu was like a second little brother to her, he was there to help her get through the loss of Lisanna all those years ago, and he had always been there for not just her but everyone else in the guild. And when he needed them to be there for him, none of them were and it was killing her just thinking about it.

"I don't know Mira, but I believe that he has good reasons for not coming back to us. We have to trust that Natsu will be alright and knows what he is doing." said Master Makarov in a very sagely manner.

"That's what you have been saying for the last four years Master, and look where that has gotten us!" shouted Mira, not wanting to hear that all they could do was sit back like they have been, in her opinion, for the last four years.

"Mira I know that isn't what you wanted to hear, but it seems to me that there is a lot more to this story that your friend couldn't tell you and it will most likely help us understand what's happening." replied Master Makarov with a frown, knowing that Mira was right to be mad at him right now.

"I guess that makes sense but after that we have to do something." she stated.

"And we will Mira, now that we know some of what happened we will do everything in our powers to bring him back to us." declared Master Makarov getting a cheer of approval from the rest of the guild.

"So Mira, did you friend tell you how Natsu got the mage to do all of that?" asked Erza getting the rest of the guild to quiet down so that they could listen in too.

"She said that he kept mumbling things like otherwise the monster will kill me or he'll hunt me down if I don't do this, under his breath during the interview. She also asked me a very weird question saying that the mage claimed that Natsu did it to him and no one believed him." answered Mira.

"What is it that Natsu could have possibly done to him that no one would believe, I mean the guy is still alive even though it sounds like he thinks Natsu is going to kill him." said Laxus for the first time joining in on the conversation.

"Yea if Salamander killed him, I would find that really hard to believe as well." inputted Gajeel.

"Just let me tell you the question she asked me." shouted out Mira, angry that she was about to hear a lot of other members give their two cents on the topic.

"She asked me if Natsu could take away someone's magic permanently or even just temporarily, because according to the mage. Natsu put some of his fire in him and now he can't even feel his magic anymore or doing even the simplest of spells." explained Mira causing the rest of the guild to look at her if she was crazy.

"Of course he can't!" shouted Grey.

"That is what I told her, but she said that the mage even showed them that he couldn't do anything. And then he told them how Natsu explained how he did it to him, he claims that Natsu's fire literally consumed all of his magic and his container that holds it so he wouldn't die from magic deprivation like mages do from being drained completely. He also said that it was the most painful thing he as ever went through. She only told me this much because they were trying to see if it was true at all." explained Mira.

"He couldn't do that could he Master?" asked Grey now afraid that Natsu could do such a thing if he ever wanted to.

"In theory it could work like that mage described, but like he said it would probably be the most painful thing anyone could experience. Which makes me believe that Natsu wouldn't do that to someone, but then again after four years of who knows what he might do now, giving in to the urge of hurting someone that much is possible." reasoned Master Makarov causing everyone else to drop their jaws at the fact that Master Makarov pretty much said yes Natsu could do that.

"Well if he did that to the mage no wonder he followed Natsu's orders. I would too if the man that took my magic away from me permanently told me too." said Jet while shaking his head.

"He deserved it." stated Lucy shocking a few that she said such a thing.

"Lucy no one deserves something like that." said Erza who was shocked that her teammate said that.

"Well he did otherwise Natsu wouldn't have done it to him." stated Lucy with a stern glare directed towards Erza.

"That isn't true Lucy, no matter what they did to Natsu that mage didn't deserve that kind of punishment. Time in jail would have been enough." replied Erza.

"How the hell can you say something like that? You have no idea what Natsu has been through Erza, you weren't there with him for the past four years. For all we know they tortured him every single day and who knows what else, all I know is that if that happened to me I would probably do much more than take his magic away. I would have probably killed him if I could have." stated Lucy once again shocking a lot of the members, while also causing a few to start thinking what would they have done to their captors if they got free after four years. Most of them agreed that they wouldn't have killed them but weren't too sure about that since they still didn't know what Natsu went through.

"Lucy please don't say such things, you know that Fairy Tail mages never kill." stated Master Makarov with a frown.

"I know Master, but Dark mages are willing to do that to us so why shouldn't we if there is no other option?" asked Lucy.

"Because there is always another way." replied Master Makarov.

"Okay, but it is really going to be hard waiting for the week to end." said Lucy seeing everyone else agreeing with her last statement.

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Thanks for reading; I hope that you all enjoyed it. So once again I have left a few things ambiguous, also if anybody has a good name for the captain I would love to hear it, since he is going to make another appearance and I would prefer to have a name for him that is good. So as always feel free to leave me a review.**

 **Until the next Chapter**

 **Digem Out!**


	3. The Return of the Salamander

Chapter 3: The Return of the Salamander

 **One Week after Natsu's Escape:**

"So did you hear the news?" asked a lady to her companion that was walking with her back to their hideout just as it was turning to dusk.

"What news Jane?" asked the man as he looked at the lady who was still in her mid-twenties.

"Wow, so you really haven't heard then." replied Jane with a sly smirk.

"For the love of god Jane you better tell me right now." demanded the man.

"Calm down Cole, I was just trying to have some fun but no I can't have any of that with you now can I." stated Jane still having that same smirk.

"Jane" was all that Cole said back to her.

"Fine, well supposedly that mage that went by Salamander a few years ago was actually being held captive by a legal guild. And just about a week ago apparently he broke out." said Jane really excitedly.

"So what some legal mage is no longer a prisoner, I don't see why you are so excited over it." stated Cole with a bored expression.

"That's because I haven't told you the best part." replied Jane now smiling.

"Well, what is it?" asked Cole, who was tired of Jane doing this sort of thing to him. He wondered why she could never get to the point right away; she always had to draw out these things.

"He apparently went on a killing spree and killed all of them, isn't that great, the once so high and mighty Salamander is now a dark mage like one of us." answered Jane in a giddy voice.

"What in the world makes you think that, Jane?" asked Cole looking at her like she was an idiot.

"Well duh, he just killed a whole entire legal guild. So how in the world is he not a dark mage?" Jane asked back while glaring at Cole.

"Are you really that stupid Jane, here let me break this down for you and I will also talk slow so that you can fully comprehend what I am about to say. First off that wasn't really a legal guild if they captured a mage from a different guild and held him for four years. Secondly and this goes off of the first he only killed dark mages that actually made the Council look like a bunch of fools, so they are probably celebrating that mage right now for ridding the world of a few more dark mages." explained Cole now having a smug grin on his face since he knew that once he pointed it out she wouldn't be able to disagree with him.

"Dammit, I was hoping that we could get him to join our guild. That alone would make us a feared guild throughout all of Fiore." replied Jane as she did a gesture with her arms spreading wide.

"HAHAHA, man Jane you really don't think things through. There is a good chance those guys were messing with him every day while he was their captive, and you think that he would join a dark guild right after. He is way more likely to start hunting down other dark guilds, and do to them what he did to that other guild." said Cole while shaking his head at his companion.

"You don't know that Cole, for all we know…" said Jane but stopped as a flame coated hand ruptured out of Cole's chest, causing blood to splatter onto her face. His eyes locked with hers for one last time and all she could see in them was complete terror and then the slowly faded away to lifeless and blank.

The hand was pulled out of Cole as his lifeless body fell to the ground into a heap. There standing in his place was a man wearing a black cloak that still had the hood up so you couldn't see his features, all that Jane could see was his red eye glowing behind that shroud of darkness that the hood provided. He slowly took a step towards her and in doing showed Jane what he had underneath. He was wearing plain black shoes that looked to be made of leather; his pant seemed to also be black leather as well but had some red at the bottoms of them. The red looked like two long dragons that crisscrossed each other back and forth and then went completely around the pant leg.

He also wore a red leather belt that had a few little pouches on them. Covering his chest was a red sleeveless shirt that had the head of a black dragon on it and over top of that he wore a black and red trimmed vest that was open, allowing Jane to see the red shirt. She also noticed that the inside of the cloak was the same color of red as very thing else which was blood red. She also noticed that the bottom of the cloak was torn up and looked like it had already seen a lot of use, but what scared Jane the most about this man was the overwhelming sense of power and imminent doom coming off of him.

"Your friend was completely right about that last part Jane." said the man as he came closer to her.

"W-what d-do you w-want, and w-who the Hell are y-you." stuttered out Jane as she continued to back away from the man that effortlessly killed her friend seconds ago.

"You know who I am Jane." replied the man while smiling which was the only other thing she could now see of this man, which made it all the more creepy.

"N-no I don't." she shouted while still back peddling away from this man, trying to make it back to her guild for help.

"Oh but you do Jane, you were just talking about me with Cole over there." replied the man still smiling as he used his thumb to point over his shoulder at the body lying on the ground. She now noticed that his hands were both wrapped from the knuckles all the way down to just shy of his elbows, and they too were blood red, and if she had to guess she would have said that they initially started out white. And they then became red after doing what he just did to Cole to other people.

"S-Salamander?" Jane said questioningly not believing that he was now standing in front of her.

"Correct on that one little Jane, oh and I might as well spare you the trouble but the rest of your guild is dead. Man you should have listened to them begging for their lives, saying that they would do anything for it. I even got one of your members to kill your Master thinking that I would spare his life if he did it. Oh Jane you should have seen the look in his eyes as I slowly choked him to death, they were screaming why is this happening I did what you asked. So why am I still dying, I guess he didn't realize that he was dead the minute that I found your guild hall." said the Salamander as he got closer to her.

"Why?" was all that Jane could get out, she wanted to say more but was too afraid to get anymore out.

"Simple really, you dark guilds are like a deadly disease. Now to get rid of a deadly disease you don't just put a Band-Aid on it and hope that you get better. No you have to go and get treated for your disease and sometimes that treatment is getting the disease surgically removed from your body. Now in this analogy I already told you that you guys are the disease while what the Council is doing now could be considered the Band-Aid or just doing nothing and hoping that things get better. While I on the other hand, would be the treatment, and I am choosing to remove you guys the best way, which so happens to be removing you permanently. With no chances of someday later coming back and doing it all over again, I am willing to do whatever it takes to cure this country of your kind." replied the Salamander as he glared at her.

Jane just stood there too afraid to do anything else, so she just stood there waiting for untimely demise at the hands of the Salamander. But after a few more moments of just waiting, she couldn't figure out what was happening, he just told her that he was going to rid the country of all dark mages. So why hadn't he killed her yet, she wondered to herself and was too afraid to ask.

"I can see by your facial expressions that you are wondering why you aren't dead yet. Don't worry you are the lucky one that gets to keep living, but unfortunately that comes at a very steep price." said the Salamander smirking at her while exposing his fangs to her.

"W-what p-price?" asked Jane knowing that she wasn't going to like the answer.

"Oh just your magic and your freedom." replied the Salamander as he closed the distance between them and slammed his open palm into her chest launching her back into a tree. Once Jane hit the tree she felt a burning pain in her chest and when she looked down there was a red dragon in the shape of an S burned through her shirt and now on her chest. The next thing she knew she was on the ground writhing in pain as it felt like her insides were being burnt, after a few more minutes of excruciating pain it finally stopped.

"What did you just do to me?" she asked as she looked up at the Salamander who towered over her.

"I already told you that Jane, you are longer a mage. Now I expect you to go and turn yourself in and inform those Rune Knights that I took care of your guild. Oh and if you don't then imagine that pain you just felt, but it happening every day to you for as long as you can survive." said the Salamander with an evil smile that made it look like he was hoping that she wouldn't do as he asked so he could deal out the consequences.

"Yes Salamander." replied Jane as she staggered off in the direction of the town.

"Man what a beautiful night, I bet you would have loved to look up at the stars one last time before you died." stated the Salamander as he pulled down his hood and looked up at the night sky. Gone was the beard that he once had just last week, and his hair remained the same length as it was a week ago but it was now cleaned up a lot and truly looked like Gajeel's but pink.

"Well I guess I might as well start the next hunt." said the Salamander to no one, and turned around and started to whistle while he headed deeper into the woods. In the slight distance fire could be seen burning a build in the heart of the woods, but the thing that made it remarkable was the fact that the flames were blood red.

 **At the Magic Council in their meeting chamber:**

"How could you let something like this happen, Captain Silverbane!" shouted one of the councilmen.

"I followed protocol to the letter, are you saying that I should have detained him with no actual reason. Also he did give us his full interview with that mage, when he could have just kept that to himself." replied Captain Silverbane who happened to be the Captain that went to the guild that captured Natsu Dragneel.

"Yes you should have, now look at what happened, the Council looks like fools because of that article." shouted the councilmen.

"Quiet, Captian Silverbane is correct, if he did what you wanted it would have made it worse. There was no way to try and sweep this under the rug, and we were fools councilman. You have all seen some of the videos that we retrieved from Rising Tide, we made a terrible mistake in letting that guild become legal." stated the Chairman in a commanding voice.

"We all agree that what happened there was terrible, but the blame cannot fall on us." stated a councilwoman.

"And why not? Is it not our sole purpose to maintain balance and peace in the magical world of our country? We are the ones that were supposed to make sure that nothing like this happened, and it appears to have been happening for the last ten years." asked the Chairman, causing a few of the council members to drop their heads knowing that he was right.

"You are correct Chairman, but how were we supposed to know that a guild was doing such disturbing things in there basement?" asked a council man.

"We should have set something up, like random searches of the guild halls, or set up random surveillance of their guilds. I don't know but we should have done something, and now it is something that has to be addressed." stated the Chairman.

"You know that most of the guilds will be opposed to this happening." stated a councilman.

"Yeah especially those mages from Fairy Tail." said a councilwoman with disgust in her voice.

"Yes they will at first, until they learn of what was happening in a fellow legal guild hall." stated the Chairman.

"It would appear that they already know a lot, because two days ago Master Makarov requested that we see all information pertaining to the guild that captured and detained their guild member Natsu Dragneel." said a councilman as he read a note that he brought with him.

"We can't let them have that information." shouted a councilman.

"I agree it is too much information to give to a guild like Fairy Tail." stated another councilman.

"Yes, but they do have the right to know. One of their members was taken by Raising Tide." inputted a councilwoman.

"They have whatever rights we give them." shouted an angry councilman that happened to be very old and balding.

"Settle down Councilman Fujimoto, we all know that you hate Fairy Tail and have wanted to disband them since joining the council. But you keep forgetting that they are the strongest guild in Fiore and have the support of most of the other guilds." said the Chairman.

"And that means they get special treatment?" asked Councilman Fujimoto.

"Well since you said it, yes, because if we want this Council to last we need to keep them on our side and not against us." replied the Chairman.

"So we are just going to do whatever they ask?" said Councilman Fujimoto angrily.

"I didn't say that, and I agree that it would not be a good idea to let them see it. Which is why we will give them the run around with paperwork and other bureaucratic things to stall for a few weeks and figure out what truly happened." answered the Chairman getting nods of approval from everyone but Councilman Fujimoto.

"I don't think we should ever give it to them." stated Councilman Fujimoto.

"Duly noted, now on to the million jewels question did Natsu Dragneel, aka the Salamander, really destroy that guild single handily and then take away that mages magic?" asked the Chairman while looking at Captain Silverbane.

"Right now it looks like he did maybe with the help of subject 8, but we can't be too sure about that since we know very little on subject 8. Most of the records dealing with her were ruined or taken, and as for if he really took that mages magic we can't be too sure about that. The mage is most definitely not a mage any longer, we have run a wide array of tests on him and he has no traces of any magic like a normal mage would." answered Captain Silverbane.

"Could he possibly be lying about ever being a mage?" asked a councilwoman.

"That is part of the problem, we don't really know if he is lying to us. But he does have their guild mark on him meaning he was a member and he admitted to torturing people while part of that guild and doing illegal requests." stated Captain Silverban.

"Were you able to found him on any of the recordings?" asked a councilman.

"Sorry but we have not been able to go through it all, there is roughly ten years of recordings so it takes time." replied Captain Silverban.

"Let's move on to the next issue, what are we going to do about Natsu Dragneel killing all of those members?" asked Councilman Fujimoto with a devious grin.

"What issue?" asked a different councilman.

"He killed them all." stated Councilman Fujimoto.

"And your point Councilman Fujimoto, they were in fact a dark guild that he happened to expose and then promptly took care of for us." replied the same councilman.

"But he killed them and should now be classified as a dark mage." said Councilman Fujimoto staring to get angry.

"Why would we do a thing like that, we have always had it clearly stated that if needed mages are able to use lethal force when dealing with dark mages. Most guilds just chose not to, since taking a life can be very difficult on a person." replied a councilwoman.

"We should at least put up a bounty for his capture, so that we can question him." said Councilman Fujimoto who was now really angry that no one was listening to him.

"Councilman Fujimoto, there is no need for us to do that, besides I would expect the last thing for Natsu Dragneel to let happen to him again would be getting captured." replied a councilman while chuckling a little.

"How did he manage to escape?" asked the Chairman once again looking at Captain Silverbane.

"We don't really know that Chairman, since there wasn't any witnesses and no recordings of the incident. We are guessing that he had someone help him from the guild but can't prove it." explained Captain Silverbane.

"And why would you assume that?" asked a different councilman.

"We are going with that theory because the device that was supposed to be draining him exploded, so the only logical explanation was that someone outside helped him." replied Captain Silverbane.

"I see, it would appear that there are still a lot of unanswered questions to this whole ordeal. Captain Silverbane please keep up the good work and figure out what really happened, you are now free to go." said the Chairman, to which Silverbane gave a bow and left the chambers.

"So Captain, how did it go?" asked a Knight from Silverbane's platoon.

"It went just like I said it would." replied Captain Silverbane with a frown.

"So they are not going to let Fairy Tail see any of the evidence?" asked the Knight as they walked down the hall side by side.

"No they are not, at least not right away." answered Captain Silverbane.

"Well isn't it good that they at least plan on giving it to them at some point?" asked the Knight.

"Yes it is, well I need a break from all of this. A man can only watch and read about torture for so long until he goes crazy. I am taking the rest of today and the morning of tomorrow off." stated Captain Silverbane as he went into his chamber leaving the Knight to go and tell the rest of his platoon.

"This will give me just enough time to visit them and be back by noon tomorrow." thought Silverbane as he grabbed his bag that he already had packed and headed to the train station.

 **At Fairy Tail:**

Master Makarov had talked with one of his old friends who happened to run a kiosk that sold Sorcerer's Weekly, and got him to bring a shipment of the new magazine to the guild as soon as it came in. Everyone was shocked by what the cover said its title was "The Return of the Salamander". Underneath that was, "The chilling tale of what happened to one of Fiore's greatest heroes for the past four years". The picture on the front was of the partially destroyed guild hall of Rising Tide, and what really shocked everyone was the huge warning on the front. It said that due to the graphic nature of the contents of this magazine it is highly advised that you not look if you are faint of heart or do not do well with blood, it also said that they wouldn't normally show these images. But since the public needed to know, they felt obligated to share it.

Then every member tore into their own copy reading it as fast as possible. Some had to stop do to the contents being too much for them to handle, the article first gave a little history about Rising Tide. After which it went on to tell what they did in their basement and even had a few pictures of the poor mages that spent time in that hell hole and eventually died. They showed still pictures of every subject all the way till number seven where the once again gave a warning and informed the reader that they actually had videos for this person who happens to be Natsu Dragneel.

This was the part were a lot of the mages of Fairy Tail had to stop, because it was just too hard watching one of their members being tortured. One of the videos was of them repeatedly cutting his right shoulder and eventually getting rid of his guild mark which caused all who saw that to start crying, knowing how proud Natsu was of that mark and of being a member of Fairy Tail. But what surprised a lot was that there were no subtitles of him screaming out in pain like some of the others, there were just the taunts and ridicules of his tormentors it was obvious that he wasn't going to let them get that pleasure. Some of the videos showed them forcing him to take weird potions that caused him tons of pain, or them just injecting him with poison that would have killed any other wizard.

After those terrible images and articles about what Natsu went through it went on to talk about the final subject. It said that not a lot is known about whom subject 8 is except for they were there for only year with Natsu and happened to be a women. It also said that it appears to them at least that they only brought her in to torture Natsu even more since most of the stuff relating to her also included subject 7. They finished it by saying that the fate of subject 8 is still a mystery, did she get out with Natsu Dragneel or did she perish like the other six subjects.

The next part had another warning saying that it showed the after math of the Salamander's escape from Rising Tide, and how it was still a mystery as to how Natsu got out of both a dampener and draining devices. And that the some of the images showed bodies, the very first Image was of all the bodies positioned into a dragon shaped S and even explained to the readers that it most likely represented a dragon and showed a picture of one. After that it showed pictures of the guild hall and the complete destruction that Natsu left in his wake, they even had a picture of the list of names with the pile of ashes on the floor.

It finally wrapped it up with a few picture of members found dead who were not at the guild at the time of the escape, all with the same S mark left on their bodies. It then said that the only one spared from the Salamander's wrath was a member that he did something to, that is still yet to be proven, and forced to give them an interview and then turn himself over to the Council. The very last thing was an opinion piece stating that the journalist does not condone what the Salamander did, but he also doesn't condemn him either, since in his opinion what he did seems justifiable and suspects that if any other mage could actually live through what the Salamander did. Then he is certain that they would do the same thing and finally closes with saying that the Salamander is still missing and that if anyone had information on him please contact them and they will immediately pass it on to Fairy Tail.

Only about ten members were able to read the whole article and most of them were Natsu's closest friends and teammates on various jobs at one time or another. One of the most shocking to make it all the way through was Wendy who was the unofficial little sister of Natsu, and as soon as she finished she broke down and cried with Happy following right after.

"There, there Wendy everything is going to be alright." said Master Makarov trying to calm down the young lady.

"How can you say that after everything you just read Master?" shouted Wendy while still crying.

"I'm sorry Wendy I was just trying to help you." replied the Master trying to keep all of his emotions in check.

"Did he actually do all of that?" asked Grey knowing that everyone was thinking it but didn't want to be the one to ask it.

"Maybe subject 8 did it." suggested Levy not wanting to believe that Natsu could kill seventy four people in just one day of getting his freedom back.

"I truly doubt that Levy-chan." replied Lucy with a frown.

"Why do you think that Lu-chan?" asked Levy knowing what Lucy was going to say.

"You saw what they did to him and that was just a small portion of what he went through. Probably only two weeks, now imagine that for a whole four years I can guarantee that you would be able to take their lives without a second thought. That is if any of us would have survived, only Natsu could have survived such a place. So Erza are you still confident that no one deserves to be killed or have their magic taken away from them?" asked Lucy with anger that just happened to be directed towards the red headed knight. Everyone waited for Erza to respond, but all she did was sit there and look off into the distance and made no indication that she was going to respond.

"Why hasn't Natsu come back to us?" asked Happy while crying.

"I don't know Happy, all we can do is wait until he comes back to us or we get some information on him." replied Wendy as she hugged the poor cat while cry with no signs of stopping.

"Erza are you okay?" asked Lucy now concerned for her friend, but still got no response.

"Lucy just give her time, she is right now trying to get past an inner dilemma. She has always believed that you never needed to kill and has never wanted to, but now after seeing and reading everything we just did. She is having doubts in that one belief that killing wasn't necessary, when she probably wants to go and kill those mages if Natsu hadn't already done that. So essentially she is at war with herself now." explained Master Makarov.

"I can't believe that Salamander is actually a live." stated Gajeel with a frown.

"Me either or that he destroyed a whole guild in one day." stated Laxus choosing to not use kill since he knows that it will probably be a sensitive issue for a while.

"But why isn't he back yet, he's gotten his revenge so what else could he be doing that is more important than coming back to his family?" asked Mira as she brushed away a few tears.

"I have no idea Mira." replied Master Makarov with a frown that seemed like it was going to become permanent.

"I have a guess as to one reason why Salamander hasn't returned." said Gajeel surprising everyone.

"And what would that be Gajeel?" asked Levy who Gajeel has been hugging pretty much since they started to read the articles.

"He probably doesn't want to come back and see all of you guys look at him differently." stated Gajeel with a frown as he looked at all of them there.

"Why would we look at him differently, we know that none of this is his fault?" asked Lucy.

"I guess saying all of you guys was bad, most of you will look at Salamander differently from now on. The only ones that I can tell that wouldn't are Lucy, Mira, Levy, Wendy, Happy, Laxus, and myself." stated Gajeel getting protests from all of the people around him saying that they wouldn't look at Natsu differently.

"Quiet, let me finish explaining god dammit. Now let's just skip all of you saying that you wouldn't pity him even though we all know that is a lie because even I wouldn't be able to not pity him after what he went through. Salamander could have easily handled those looks, but the ones that he wouldn't be able to stand are the ones that would come after pity. The ones that you guys would make when you remembered that he killed seventy four people, and look right there is the faces that he wouldn't be able to stand seeing." explained Gajeel as he pointed to their faces that had a wide variety of emotions such as: fear, disgust and shame to name a few.

"What and the people you said won't look at him differently?" asked Grey angered that Gajeel said that he would look at Natsu differently.

"Yes Grey, you are not going to want to hear this but you are now afraid of Salamander not only because he is capable of killing. But also because of the rumor that he can destroy someone's ability to use magic, it was the first time I have seen you make that face ever when talking about Salamander." stated Gajeel with a frown.

"That still didn't answer my question Gajeel." said Grey knowing that what Gajeel said before was correct.

"Well I can actually only tell you my reason for certain and can only guess what the reasons for the others not looking at him differently. For myself I was raised by a god damn dragon, so I was taught at a young age that it was either kill or be killed, and I can only assume Wendy and Salamander were taught the same." to which he got a nod from Wendy who was no longer crying. "I have also already killed a person so it would be very hypocritical for me to look at him differently, and settle down it was a long time ago before I even joined Phantom Lord." said Gajeel.

"As for all of the Exceeds they are companions to dragon slayers so they are of the same mindset. Happy also has the whole seeing Salamander as a father. Wendy and Shrimp both see him as an older brother figure and would probably never be able to see him as anything but that." said Gajeel as he continued on.

"Laxus, might be a combination of things like he's possibly killed someone, which shouldn't be that shocking since he was willing to do that to all of Magnolia meaning that he definitely has the ability to. Or it could also be that he too is a dragon slayer even though he wasn't raised by a dragon." explained Gajeel.

"As for Bunny-girl I have actually no idea why you are okay with this, maybe because you love Salamander? As for the Demon of Fairy Tail you are also a little bit of a mystery to me as well, maybe because you see him as a little brother or maybe because you too at one point were about to kill someone." said Gajeel as he raised his eyebrow at the two women, one just smiled at his guess while the other started to blush and deny it.

"So there you have it guys, my guess as to one of the reasons why Salamander hasn't returned. Because like Erza and Master Makarov have said plenty times Fairy Tail members don't kill." said Gajeel which put the final nail into the proverbial coffin, as to why Natsu wouldn't be returning. This caused those that were listening to this whole thing lower their heads and start to question things that they didn't think about before and just took for granted.

"Hey Mira didn't you say that your friend was going to send over the stuff that they weren't going to publish?" asked Levy trying to change topics even though it is questionable if it is any better.

"Yea she was going to when she thought that they weren't going to be able to publish all of it, which they apparently were able to do. Even though I really wish they wouldn't have, all of Fiore didn't need to see what Natsu went through." said Mira with a huge frown.

"Sorry but I am going to have to disagree with you on that one Miss. Strauss." said a Rune Knight that just walked into the very quiet guild hall.

"Who are you?" asked Master Makarov with a lot of hostility because he blamed the Council for allowing such a guild to be legalized.

"I am Captain Silverbane of the Rune Knights and I am sorry to intrude at such hard time for Fairy Tail, but I felt the need to do what the Council planned on doing but rather than in a few weeks I am going to do it now." replied Silverbane.

"And what would that be Captain Silverbane?" asked Master Makarov still not happy with anyone from the Council.

"That would be giving you all of the evidence that we obtained from Rising Tide's guild hall." stated Captain Silverbane as he laid down the two bags the he carried with him.

"Are you serious?" asked Master Makarov, not believing that someone from one of the branches of the Council would be doing something like this for them.

"Yes I am, I owe my life to Natsu Dragneel, this is the least that I could do." stated Captain Silverbane with a frown.

"You know that you will most likely get fired or even arrested for giving us this." stated Master Makarov wanting to make sure that the young Captain knew what he was getting himself into.

"Yes I do Master Makarov, but it is the price I am willing to pay to insure that Fairy Tail remains a legal guild and doesn't turn on the council. We both know that if that happened it would become pretty ugly pretty fast. And like I said before Natsu Dragneel saved my life, so it seems fitting that I do everything in my power to help him." replied Captain Silverbane.

"How do you have all of this information?" asked Master Makarov with a raised eyebrow.

"I was the man in charge of investigating Rising Tide after that man turned himself in." answered Silverbane.

"So is it true that Natsu did all of that?" asked Cana wanting to hear it from the person investigating it.

"I am sorry to say this, but it would appear so. Once you look at all of the information that I brought, you will agree with me. The members of Rising Tide being burned alive are proof that he definitely was part of it, if not all of it." replied Silverbane with a frown.

"Is it true that he took away the only surviving members' magic away?" asked Grey wanting to know if that is true.

"How did you hear about that, never mind I should have guessed that you guys would figure out about something like that? But as of right now we can't confirm if he actually did since right now we don't have any proof that the man we have in custody was ever an actual mage. He is right now though, definitely not a mage and never will be, he doesn't have a trace of magic in him." said Silverbane with a frown, causing those listening to now know that Natsu most likely did indeed have that power.

"So how did the Salamander escape, from what the article said it should have been impossible for a mage even like him?" asked Gajeel wanting to know if the Council knew more than the public.

"That too is a mystery, if you look at some of the photos that I brought you will see that all of his cuff were shattered. And the device that was draining him exploded somehow, as if it was overloaded, but we are assuming he had outside help for that." answered Silverbane as he started to unload copies of the evidence, which made people notice that the bags must have been magical since he kept on taking things out even after it should have been empty.

"Who would have helped him, no one from Rising Tide would because it sounded like they all enjoyed torturing him?" asked Mira seeing that as a big problem for that theory of his escape.

"We don't know that, but it is better than assuming that he somehow overloaded the device. I mean he has done incredible things in the past but for in order for him to do that he would have to be at the level of the top four Wizard Saints or higher." explained Silverbane while continuing to unload files.

"Well if he can actually take someone's magic, saying that he is at that level is not so farfetched." pointed out Levy.

"I guess when you put it that way you do have a point." stated Silverbane after he thought about it for a second.

"What about subject 8, the article said that there wasn't much information on her except for the fact that they think they just used her as a different way to torture Natsu?" asked Laxus, knowing just like all of the members that doing that would be the best way to actually hurt Natsu. And it made them all sick just thinking that people would go that far to hurt Natsu more than they already had.

"Well to be honest we don't know much about her either and there is just so much to go through, which is another reason why I decided to give this to you. I know that you are all really motivated to try and figure out what happened so you can help Natsu. But at least in my opinion subject 8 seems to be something that Natsu wants to keep hidden from us, and I can't seem to figure out why." elaborated Silverbane as he moved onto the second bag.

"So what I am hearing is that you guys are pretty clueless on what Natsu did that day and why, except for the fact that they deserved what he did to them." said Lucy with a frown.

"Sorry that I couldn't be of more help." replied Silverbane as he lowered his head.

"Oh sorry I didn't want to make you feel bad, and look at what you are doing for us it is more than enough. I was just really wanting to know what's going on." explained Lucy not wanting the man who is risking a lot for them to feel bad.

"Thanks but I really wish I could do more, it makes me sick just knowing that Rising Tide was a legal guild." spat out Silverbane with pure hatred in his eye, shocking a few members.

"Mira your friend from Sorcerer's Weekly wants to talk with you." said a puffy eyed Lisanna as she held up a communication lacrima.

"Okay, I'll be there in a second." replied Mira as she went over there and started to mainly listen to her friend. Everyone remained quite knowing that it most likely concerned Natsu, and once she down with the call, Silverbane was also finally done with packing.

"So what did she say?" asked Levy.

"Apparently Natsu has done it again." stated Mira as if it was normal.

"Done what exactly?" asked Grey.

"Pretty much everything that he did to Rising Tide, but this time it was the dark guild, Wandering Eye." explained Mira once again seeming completely okay with it.

"Even the taking away of a members' magic?" asked Silverbane who wanted to confirm if he indeed had the power to do that.

"Yep and the member informed them that the Salamander, has declared war against all dark mages. The member also said that Natsu sees all dark guilds and their members as a disease and the he is the only treatment since the Council is doing nothing." explained Mira.

"Well I have to be going then, this is going to cause a few of my bosses to become quite concerned." said Silverbane as he quickly left.

"How are you okay with this Mira? Killing those that captured him and did all those things to him is one thing, but this is completely different." asked Erza who seemed to have just snapped out of her state after hearing that Natsu wiped out another guild.

"I really don't see it that way, and neither does Natsu. Do you really think that any of those dark guilds wouldn't have done the same thing to Natsu if they could have, the answer to that is no. They actually probably would have just killed him after one year of having fun with him." explained Mira.

"But that doesn't mean that we should just kill them, when throwing them in prison works." stated Erza.

"Do you honestly believe that Erza, what do they always do as soon as they get out. They go straight back to a dark guild, I mean you've seen it yourself look at what the Oracion Seis did after getting out, they reformed their guild instantly. Now I do admit that Natsu might be going at this in an extreme way, but at least he will be making a lot of dark mages start rethinking their choices." said Mira with a stern look directed at Erza.

"But he is a member of Fairy Tail and he knows that we don't kill." said Erza trying to somehow get anyone to see it her way.

"You're wrong Erza, at least in Natsu's eyes he's no longer a member." replied Laxus with a frown.

"Why would you think that Natsu would be thinking something like that Laxus?" asked Erza.

"Because he no longer has our emblem, and the few serious fights that I have seen or been in with Natsu I could see that he really wanted to kill his enemies so that they could never hurt us again, he even gave that look to me when we had that whole thing with me trying to take over the guild. But he never did and it was only because of that emblem and that we pride ourselves on never needing to take someone's life." explained Laxus still with a slight frown.

"I know what you mean Laxus, I saw the same thing when I fought Salamander too. It is actually one of the reasons I respect him so much. And like I said earlier him being a dragon slayer makes it even easier for him since we were trained from a young age to know how the world works." said Gajeel with no discernable expression on his face.

"But what happened to the man that was all smiles and would make it his sole person to see everyone here happy?" asked Erza who was fighting back her tears and all of the other emotions that she has been suppressing.

"My guess would be that, that Natsu died sometime during his stay at Rising Tide. But the only way to be sure of that would be to start going through all of that." replied Laxus as he pointed at all of the things that Silverbane brought.

"You are probably correct on that Laxus, but I am sure that, that part of Natsu is still in there. And if we figure out all that happened to him we might be able to bring it back out and in the process bring him back to Fairy Tail." stated Master Makarov which got a few members to lose their frowns and replace them with looks of determination.

"Laxus you made it sound like there are multiple Natsu's, why is that?" asked Lucy.

"Well it doesn't really surprise me that you wouldn't really know this, since you have never been his enemy." replied Laxus.

"The Salamander is someone you never want to be an enemy of, trust us on that one, we would know. He becomes someone who seems to have an endless amount of magic and won't go down no matter how hard you hit him." said Gajeel.

"So what is this other Natsu?" asked Cana who was also curious now.

"That would be his dragon side." stated Gajeel.

"What we are all seeing now is indeed the return of the Salamander." said Laxus with a little smirk that no one noticed.

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I have enjoyed writing this darker story. So I knocked off a few more candidates of who might be the mystery women. I bet that some of you are probably wondering why Happy and Wendy didn't say a lot in this chapter and that would be because in my opinion they wouldn't be able to after reading what happened to him. They would be crying pretty much the whole time, just thought I would throw that out there as for why they had really small parts. So as always feel free to leave me a review.**

 **Until the next Chapter**

 **Digem Out!**


	4. The Chance Encounter

Chapter 4: The Chance Encounter

 **One month later:**

He sat there in the shadows as he watched the comings and goings of the members of this dark guild. All of the guild members were unaware that this was most likely going to be their last day alive.

"They all are just acting like as if it is another day." the Salamander thought to himself, and this made him sick. Salamander wanted to see them all frightened and scared for their lives, just knowing that he was out there and would be eventually coming for them.

"I guess I will have to change up my strategy then, since what I have been doing up till now hasn't been working." he thought to himself as he looked at the well-fortified castle that was their guild hall.

"Maybe I should start killing off some of those corrupt Rune Knights and employees of the Council, and expose them for their crimes. That will bring more attention to what I am trying to do." thought the Salamander with a sadistic grin on his face that was shaded by his hood. But first he would have to eliminate this dark guild before him, and make them experience a small fraction of what she went through.

 **Flash back:**

"Natsu I can't take this anymore." she whimpered as she lay curled up in the fetal position in the corner of her cage.

"Hey I thought that we agreed you wouldn't talk like that anymore." said Natsu with his usual grin, just trying to cheer up his only friend in this god forsaken hell hole.

"We did Natsu, but I just don't understand how you have been in here for over three years and can still grin like that?" asked the lady as she was now sitting up and looking at him.

"Well I know that it is only a matter of time before my friends come and get us out of here." replied Natsu with a big smile.

"How can you have so much faith in your friends Natsu, it's been more than three years? They all probably think you are dead or left the country to never return." asked the lady finding it impossible to just have faith in her friends like Natsu.

"Simple, were not just friends we're family. And that means that we never give up, even if the odds are a million to one. We don't back down because we would do anything for a fellow member of Fairy Tail." declared Natsu proudly.

"I wish I had people still looking for me." replied the women with a frown as the lowered her head so that it rested on her knees.

"That's why I told you to not listen to them, so that you would still have hope that your guild would come for you." replied Natsu with a small frown on his lips.

"How can you still say that after what they were doing to you?" asked the women loudly.

"Because it was going to happen to me no matter what, and I have already been through everything that they can throw at me. And I really didn't want you to write that letter to you guild members when everything on it was a complete lie." answered Natsu with a big grin directed towards her.

"I'm not like you Natsu, I can't handle the constant torture and fear of what's to come." said the lady as she broke down and started to cry.

"Yes you are, and if not I will do everything in my power to help you because what else are friends for?" asked Natsu with that goofy grin of his.

"How are you still that same Natsu that I knew three years ago?" asked the women having stopped crying and looking at her fellow prisoner and wondering how in the world he was still alive. All she could think about was what incredible will power and determination he must have to not have gone insane by now, and she decided that she was going to try and be just like him.

"HA it would take more than this to change a dragon; we dragons are very stubborn creatures." Natsu explained with a big smile.

"Natsu you aren't a dragon, but I do admire your determination and strength." replied the women with a small smile.

"I am too, and those are just a few of my winning traits." said Natsu once again grinning even though he was still in a terrible situation.

"HEHEHE still the same Natsu, to dense to know that we won't be getting out of here." giggled the girl who was amused by the dragon slayer.

"Hey we just said that you weren't going to talk like that anymore." said Natsu with a very serious face.

"Sorry Natsu it's just I can't have the same faith as you, since my friends aren't looking for me they all think that I just went on a long trip to a neighboring country for some relaxation and training." explained the lady.

"What about me, I'm your friend and I will make sure that you and I both get out of here alive." declared Natsu with a grin.

"Natsu, don't make a girl a promise that you can't keep." stated the lady with a small smile at Natsu's words.

"I won't, which is why I promise that I will get both of us out of here or my name isn't Natsu Dragneel the Salamander." said Natsu proudly with so much conviction and determination in his voice. That it actually made the women trapped with him start believing in his words and just like that, she once again had hope all thanks to the pink headed dragon slayer.

"You're right Natsu, we will both make it out of here alive." she replied with a huge smile that Natsu didn't know if he was ever going to see from his friend. But man was Natsu glad to see it again because it only strengthened his resolve to keep his promise to her and make sure that she could keep having that beautiful smile.

 **End of Flash back:**

The Salamander watched as the sun started to set behind the mountains that he was in, loving his new favorite time of the day. The time when most would turn in for the night and go to sleep excited for what tomorrow would bring, but that wasn't what the Salamander would do, no this time was when he would start his hunt.

"Well it's time to start the hunt." thought the Salamander as he started to jump from ledge to ledge slowly descending from his vantage point over the castle as he got nearer to it. Once he was about forty yards away from one of the guard towers the Salamander did a quick burst of red flames while jumping to launch himself on to the roof of the tower where he landed on all fours like a cat barely making a sound.

"What the hell was that red light I just saw?" asked the mage on lookout duty inside of the tower, as the Salamander lowered himself down on the other side.

"That would be me." replied the Salamander as he was now right behind the mage, who quickly turned around at the voice behind him. But it was already too late for him as a flaming red hand grabbed his mouth and slammed him into the floor boards and slowly burned him while he kicked and tried to fight off his assailant that is until he stopped moving meaning he had passed on to the next life.

"This is just too easy, why didn't I do this in the first place all those years ago. If I had she would most likely still be here." the Salamander growled to himself as he went down the tower. Along the trip down he did the same thing to any guard that he ran into as he did to the mage who was on lookout duty, which the Salamander couldn't help but think that the mage sucked at otherwise the guild would know of the his presence.

Once exiting the tower the Salamander found himself in a long hallway with doors on all sides. On closer inspection he realized that he was in one of their dormitories where their members have their rooms and are most likely asleep right now and it was probably their only one since this guild only had about sixty members. Which if he wasn't mistaken there would be just as many rooms in this wall way that went on for a ways, and each door had the name of the mage staying there.

"Really, seems like fate really wants you fuckers dead." said the Salamander to himself as he went up to the first door and tried to open it. It was in fact locked which only slowed him down for a few seconds, he lit a red flame at the tip of his finger and increased the intensity of the flame and with one quick swipe the lock was cut clean through.

Without making a noise he slipped into the room that was completely dark, after a few moments of letting his eye adjust he could see that someone was indeed sleeping in the bed. He crept up to the person as if he was a ghost not making a single sound, and looked over his victim and took in their scent and appearance. The Salamander wanted to still make sure that if he was killing people in their sleep that they were indeed dark mages, as he took in the aura that the person gave off. Which while sleeping is something that you can't change, he now knew that they were indeed a dark mage so with a sinister smirk he once again covered his hand in his blood red flames.

And with a swipe of arm he slit the throat of the person in the bed. Said mages eyes shot open as they clutched their throat trying to stop the blood from oozing out, while trying to figure out what just happened. His eyes finally fell onto the red glowing eyes glaring back down at him from the darkness that just looked like those of an apex predator looking at its feast. The mage tried to scream out for help but all that happened was the spluttering of blood and gargling noises came.

"Don't worry, it's soon going to be over and I will be sending your friends right after." said the Salamander while smirking at the terrified mage that was slowly dying in front of him.

"Well I will be going now, I have a lot more people to send to the same place you're going." said the Salamander as he left the room. Salamander completed that same routine for each room, with the occasional one being empty, except for the last four he just knocked them up and cuffed them with magic suppressing cuffs because he had different plans for them.

"Well that takes care of the grunts now time to deal with the boss." said the Salamander as he went to the only other source of magic in this place. Once he got there, he was standing outside of an office that was similar to Master Makarov's office at Fairy Tail, it would have made the old him smile at how similar their two guilds could be. But right now all it made him was actually get angrier at this dark guild trying to be like a real guild when he knows that they are despicable humans who are willing to do anything as long as they get their jewels.

So the Salamander just opened the door and walked in to see a man in his late fifties sitting behind his desk reading papers. And continued to do so not caring that the Salamander just came in or maybe he didn't even notice, so the Salamander cleared his throat with a deep cough.

"Yes I know that you are there, so what do you want?" asked the Master while not even looking up.

"What do I want, well for starters I think your head will do just fine." replied the Salamander with his deep voice, which shocked the Master because none of his members had a voice like that so he looked to see who it was. Once looking up he saw a man that he had never seen before standing there in his office, with a smirk on his face threatening his life.

"Who are you, and what makes you think that I will let such a threat slide?" asked the Master now angry at this stranger.

"Little old me, I don't even know if you have heard of me since you all were going around your business as if you had nothing to fear." replied the Salamander with a big grin.

"Why would we be afraid of someone like you?" asked the Master as he flared up his magic.

"Because I am the Salamander and it wasn't a threat that I was going to take your head that was a promise." replied the Salamander with a grin as he slowly walked over to the Master.

"Gravity Change!" shouted the Master as he swiped his arms down so that this man would be crushed and he could go back to reading. But that didn't happen the stranger didn't even act like anything happened to him and just kept walking towards him, now causing the Master to start to panic.

"What the hell are you, that should have flattened you to as thin as a piece of paper?" asked the Master as he back away from this man that took one of his strongest attack as if it was nothing.

"I already told you who I am; the Salamander and you can thank the Rising Tide for how I am now. So let's see about separating that head from that pointless body of yours?" asked the Salamander as he picked up the Master by his throat.

"Please don't, you don't have to do this to me. I never did anything to hurt you so please don't kill me." begged the Master while he was being chocked by the Salamander.

"I don't care if you never harmed me, what I do know is that you and your guild members did harm others which is why they are all dead now. And you will be to, after you tell me everything that you know about all of the other dark guilds that you are in contact with." growled the Salamander as he lit his other hand on fire and brought it up to the Masters face.

"I would rather die than let you go and do this to a different guild." spat out the Master and literally spit in the Salamanders face.

"I was actually hoping you would do that. You see after being tortured for four years you learn a lot, like first off and at least for me there is no reason to start of small." replied the Salamander with a smirk and then sent a stream of fire go straight into the Masters left eye destroying it completely while sealing up the wound when he stopped. The Master was now screaming at the top of his lungs at the pain he was feeling.

"So that was level one, lets' see how far you can make it before you cave?" asked the Salamander with a big smile.

"Please no more, I will tell you everything you want to know just, no more." begged the Master.

"Wow what a bitch but hey that means I will get my information faster and then I can finish a few things then be on my way to the next guild. So start talking otherwise your other eye is next." replied the Salamander while still holding the Master by his throat. An hour later he walked out of the office with the Master's head under his right arm and explored the rest of the guild for things that he might find useful or must be destroyed before they fall into the hands of another dark guild or the Council for that matter.

Anything that that he found interesting he would slip into one of his pouches on his belt, which seemed to have an unlimited amount of space in them considering that he kept putting tons of things into them. The rest of the stuff that he didn't want he piled up so that once he left he could easily burn them. Content that he gathered anything of value and the only people alive where the four members that he spared he headed to the room that he threw them in.

"Good you are all awake, I am going to make this quick. Hi I am the Salamander that you should have heard about by now and here is you Master's head. I want one of you to take that with you when you leave this place. So I am going to take you magic away from all of you in a little bit, after which I am going to light this place on fire which will make it really dramatic when you try and save your friends that I didn't kill and just tied up." explained the Salamander with a big smirk as he tossed them the head and they all were too scared to do anything but just sit there and wait for him to take their magic. Which he started to do and once he got to the last member she was now begging him to just kill her.

"Please just kill me, I don't want to go through what they just did." she said as she motioned to her three friends who were writhing in pain on the floor.

"Well there was a lot of things that I would have rather not happened to me, but guess what, life is sometimes a bitch. And if I didn't do this, then who would go out and tell the others of what happened here?" asked the Salamander not waiting for an answer and then destroying her magic. After which he took off their cuffs and then headed to the pile of things that he set aside to burn.

With a flick of his wrist the pile was ignited with his blood red flames and slowly started to spread to other things around it. With a proud smile on his face the Salamander turned around and started to leave the burning castle while whistling the only tune that he seemed to know with a glint in his eye that meant that this was still just the beginning.

 **The next day at the Council's meeting chamber:**

"So are we still going to do nothing about the Salamander going on a killing spree while also taking away magic from mages?" asked a disgruntled Councilman Fujimoto.

"Yes we are, and we would be fools to stop him. He is only targeting dark guilds which we keep reminding you of, meaning that by our own laws he is still not a murder. Also we still don't know how he is able to get rid of someone's magic, but once again he is only doing that to dark mages so I see nothing wrong with it." replied the Chairman.

"Mark my words, you will all be sorry that you didn't listen to me sooner when he all of a sudden turns on people who haven't done anything." said Councilman Fujimoto with a frown.

"I am confident that day won't happen and if it does, then you will finally get your wish and the Salamander will become a wanted man by the council." responded the Chairman.

"I agree with the Chairman on this, but if he does start killing innocent we definitely won't be able to stop him with simple Rune Knights." pointed out a councilwoman.

"We could send some guilds to take him down." suggested a councilman.

"I really don't think any of them would accept that for numerous reasons, like he used to be their friend and he is also single handedly taking down dark guilds every week, sometimes two of them." replied the Chairman.

"You do have a point there Chairman." replied the councilman.

"What about one of the Ten Wizard Saints." suggested a different councilman.

"That could definitely work." agreed a councilwoman.

"Well we can cross of Makarov and Jura from accepting that mission." said a councilman.

"Okay it's settled then, if Natsu Dragneel kills someone other than a dark mage we will send a Wizard Saint to go and capture him." said the Chairman.

"Capture, why isn't it to kill him?" asked Councilman Fujimoto with a frown.

"Because that is not what we do to all other mages that have committed murder. Especially one that has helped the country from being destroyed numerous times, who still now is helping the country by eliminating all dark guilds in his way." replied the Chairman who was tired of Fujimoto and his hatred for all things Fairy Tail.

"Once again you are making a big mistake." replied Councilman Fujimoto.

"I am thinking right now that our biggest mistake was letting you onto this Council Fujimoto, and if you continue your irrational hatred for Fairy Tail then we will be forced to fix that mistake. Is that clear enough for you Fujimoto?" asked the Chairman while glaring at Fujimoto, who now was quiet and a little afraid of the Chairman.

"Speaking of Fairy Tail, why did they stop bothering us for information on the crime scenes?" asked a councilwoman.

"I don't really know or care, whatever the reason is, is also probably why they haven't been destroying things like they usually do. So I say we just leave them to whatever they are doing." stated the Chairman.

"That is a good point." replied the councilwoman while nodding.

"Now moving on to the normal part of you meeting." declared the Chairman as they then started to discuss the conditions of different branches of the Council.

 **At Fairy Tail:**

A select few have been going through the documents and recordings that Silverbane left them, and it was one of the worst months that they have ever gone through. But they just recently made some big discoveries and were now going to report them to Master and a small portion of the guild who were all really concerned about Natsu.

"Okay guys what have you learned?" asked Master Makarov with an expressionless face.

"Lu-chan if you would go first with your findings." stated Levy who had a serious face just like everyone else present as Lucy then got up out of her chair.

"I got it Levy-chan, so I was tasked with finding out all of the experiments that they did to Natsu while he was there. They seemed to really like to test poisons that they were making on him, but after the second year Natsu somehow became immune to all forms of poison. This was confirmed by them after they were seeing no effects from any of the low doses of poisons that they were giving him. So they started to give him doses that would take down an elephant but they still did nothing to Natsu and they tried to figure out how he did this but came back with nothing." explained Lucy while frowning.

"One of the other main things that they experimented on him was potions that were supposed to give you great physical strength. This had a lot of side effects for a really long time but then after a few months they gave Natsu one that apparently worked so well that he surpassed his old physical physic and is now as built as in the latest video. Now this is really significant since after two years he looked like this." said Lucy as a picture of Natsu strapped to the table was displayed and he looked like he hadn't eaten in more than a month and no longer had the muscle definition that he always had.

"The first two years they didn't allow any type of exercise since they had this in plan. But according to their notes after seeing the results the potion had on Natsu they asked for a guild member to volunteer and got one. Right after the volunteer drank the potion he turned purple and died, which then caused them to give up on that potion attributing the success it had on Natsu due to his immunity to poison." explained Lucy while frowning the whole time.

"While working on that potion they were working on two other ones that if they perfected would be worth millions of jewels. One of the potions was supposed to make the mage not need as much sleep as they usually would, while the other one was supposed to reduce how much food you need to survive. Just like in the other potion there were tons of side effects while working on the formula, and once again they thought that they got it figured out but instead of using a member they abducted a random citizen and unfortunately it once again resulted in death." said Lucy who was almost crying thinking about the people that died.

"They continued this until something extremely unexpected happened and that was both potions effects, which were supposed to only last for a week at max, became permanent for Natsu. And they stopped testing to see how long it would last and for the next year and a half the effects lasted, making them think it was permanent but couldn't do anymore testing since he escaped. According to the notes the max that he can actually eat in one day is just one average sized meal, and that one meal can last him for as long as a week. As for the sleeping he now only gets ten hours a week max and can function perfectly with just four." continued Lucy.

"That is most of the significant things about their experiments. They did try to make some potions that were supposed to speed up the healing process but they were never able to tell if it was the potion or just because of Natsu being a dragon slayer. Thus concludes my part on their experiments related to Natsu as of right now, which were ones they did on their earlier subjects but was never able to get anywhere with them." finished Lucy and then sat back down in her seat.

"You have to be kidding me." stated Grey.

"As if the Salamander wasn't scary enough, now they have made him into someone that barely needs to eat and sleep." stated Gajeel while shaking his head just thinking about how handy that would be, but was not willing to go through what Natsu went through to get it.

"Don't forget that he can't even be poisoned now." stated Mira.

"This also explains how he was able to get so much done within that last month." said Laxus not even knowing if he would have made it through just that.

"What else were you able to find out?" asked Master Makarov.

"Well besides that they were all twisted mages who I have no idea how the Council allowed to become a legal guild." stated Levy.

"Yes, besides that Levy." replied Master Makarov.

"Freed it you would tell your part now." stated Levy.

"So I was the unfortunate one who mainly focused on the torture. And from what I saw they learned a lot from their previous subjects, and were very skilled at inflicting pain. But it would appear that all of that meant little when they tortured Natsu because he never once cracked for the first three years. He just took it and never once tried to bargain for his freedom or tell them anything about anyone even remotely related to him. Which is why they brought subject 8 into the mix, her main purpose was to in fact just make Natsu watch them torture her, and this was the only times they got responses out of Natsu which mainly turned into threats. But after a while they were able to get Natsu to start begging them to torture him rather than subject 8, now I could go into detail about how they tortured him but you would only get nightmares from it. And I have only watched about half of them and it appears that they were getting really creative on how they tortured him, such as doing things that used his enhanced senses as the way to inflict pain." said Freed who looked terrible the whole time just from remembering what he saw.

"Like what?" asked Erza who just had to know what they did to Natsu that caused him to be able to kill so easily.

"One example is that they got some really bad smelling stuff and put it right under his nose while he was strapped to the table. Another was them playing really loud noises right next to his ears, I am actually amazed that he can still hear." explained Freed with a frown.

"Were you guys able to find out anything on this subject 8?" asked Master Makarov.

"That was what I have been focusing on, and Silverbane was correct when he said that Natsu was trying to cover up things related to subject 8. I still don't know why he's doing it, but what I was able to figure out that Natsu knew her before she was captured, and that no one is looking for her or knows that she is gone since the forced her to write letters to her friends explaining why she will be gone for a while. And as Freed said her main purpose was to be a different kind of torture for Natsu. I was also able to find out that she would pretty much fit your standard woman's physic and anytime it looked like it was about to say something that would help us identify her, the next page was torn out or the page had burn holes where the information was at. So to sum it all up we still don't know much about her or why Natsu went to such great lengths to hide her identity or what happened to her." explained Levy.

"Thanks you three, and I really hate to ask this of you but will you be able to keep going through all of the information?" asked the Master with a frown.

"I will still do it, if Natsu can actually live through it then I will be strong enough to learn about it." declared Lucy.

"I am with you on that one Lu-chan." said Levy.

"Count me in too, but my main reason is so that no one else has to see as much as I have already seen." said Freed with a pissed of look that everyone knew was meant for the people that did all of this to Natsu.

"Thank you so much you three, alright so how has the tracking party been going?" asked Master Makarov as he looked at the group of mages that made up that group. This consisted of Laxus, Gajeel, Wendy, Happy, Erza, Grey and Cana.

"I don't know how he is doing it but I can't use my cards to pinpoint his location to anything smaller than a fifty mile radius." replied Cana who was disappointed in herself for not being able to help more.

"He hasn't visited any of his old spots that he would go to when he wanted to be alone, Wendy used her nose to check." said Happy who now almost always had a frown on his face.

"We reached out to all of his friends at the other guilds and none of them knows any more than what has been in the magazines, and all of them are still finding those articles hard to believe." said Erza with Grey nodding his head in agreement to what she just said.

"It has been completely unproductive for us as well, Natsu was always the best tracker out of all the dragon slayers." said Laxus with a frown.

"And now that he doesn't need to barely sleep or eat, Salamander has indeed become a fearsome predator. And because of those enhancements Salamander has always been miles away when we investigate his latest work." explained Gajeel.

"Darn I was really hoping that we would be able to at least talk to him." replied Master Makarov with a frown.

"Master I have a question." stated Erza.

"Yes, what is it Erza?" asked Master Makarov.

"Now I am not complaining about this, but why hasn't the Council done anything about this?" asked Erza.

"Simple Titania, Salamander is doing the job of the Council for them so they are completely fine with just sitting back and letting him make their jobs that much easier. Also the Council approves of lethal force when dealing with dark mages so right now Salamander isn't a murder to them he is just a mage that is taking the problem of dark guilds and shutting them down permanently." replied Gajeel.

"Well that's good to know that he won't be in trouble with the council when we get him back." said Erza with a faint smile.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that Erza." stated Laxus.

"Why Laxus, Gajeel said that they are okay with him killing dark guilds for them?" asked Erza losing ther faint smile.

"Well that is as long as there is no collateral damage which I am amazed there hasn't been, he seems to have gotten smarter within the last four years as well." explained Laxus.

"That means we need to find him before that does happen." said Erza ready to charge out there.

"That still wouldn't mean that the council wouldn't eventually come for him, think about it Erza he is single handedly taking down dark guilds and a few of them weren't push overs either." said Laxus who is impressed with Natsu's results on his little revenge campaign.

"Not to mention that he can take away your magic." inputted Grey as he shivered at the thought.

"Those two things don't give the council any reason to go after him." stated Erza angrily.

"You are correct Erza, but like that has ever stopped the Council from doing whatever they wanted." said an angry Master Makarov as everyone sat in silence for a little while.

"Well let's get back at it then." said Master Makarov as everyone left to go get back to the individual jobs.

"What could they have done to make you have so much hatred Natsu?" asked Master Makarov.

"Whatever it was must have been really bad to get someone, who never really hated anyone before to do what he's doing now." stated Mira as she stood next to the Master.

"If we can figure that out then we might be able to help him." said Master Makarov who was mainly just thinking out loud right now.

"Master do you think we will be able get him back to how he was before?" asked Mira with hopeful eyes.

"Sorry Mira but there is no way for that to happen, especially after everything that Natsu has gone through and done. But that doesn't mean he won't be able to become similar to how he used to be." replied Makarov with a frown.

"This still feels like a nightmare that I can't seem to wake up from." stated Mira with her own frown.

"I know what you mean, I really wish that I would have put more effort into looking for him but I thought that he might have just left for training without telling us. But that is just the excuse that I keep telling myself so that I can hopefully fix my mistake." said Master Makarov with a big frown.

"Don't worry Master, we'll get him back and you'll be able to do that." said Mira with a faint smile as she finally left.

"I hope that you are right Mira." thought Makarov.

 **At Crocus market district:**

"Come on you piece of shit, lead me to your dirty friends." thought the Salamander as he trailed a Rune Knight from a distance. He had been following this dirty Rune Knight for the last two hours and hasn't gotten any knew information on who else was dirty.

The Salamander was growing impatient and if nothing happened in the next ten minutes he was going to go to plan t. Plan t had so far never failed him and always got the answers that he desired while also a few more that he didn't even ask them. Yep the Salamander just decided to start plan t that is until he bumped into someone he hadn't seen for over five years, and didn't know what do. He also didn't know that his hood was knocked down in the process meaning that they could easily recognize him now.

"Natsu is that you?" asked Gildarts Clive as of Fairy Tail, but the Salamander was still too shocked to say anything.

"Of course it's you because I have never seen a male with your hair color except for you Natsu." said Gildarts loudly which finally snapped the Salamander out of his shock.

"Hey keep quiet Gildarts I am kind of on a mission here." said the Salamander hoping that Gildarts would leave.

"Oh sorry, I didn't know, I was just happy to see you. Especially since you were gone the last time I was at Fairy Tail. I think they said that they had no idea where you were at and assumed you were training." replied Gildarts.

"Most wouldn't call it that but I guess you could call it a type of training." said the Salamander.

"I bet you are really strong now aren't you?" asked Gildarts with a smile.

"More than you could possibly imagine, but as I said I have a mission I have to complete." replied the Salamander.

"Okay, Okay, who would have thought that you would become so serious about jobs. Oh and what happened to your scarf?" asked Gildarts as he looked at the scarf that was now red rather than its usual white.

"Oh this, I got some blood on it and liked the color so I made the rest of it match it." answered the Salamander as he remembered that it did turn red after all of the people he killed.

"Well I guess as long as you are okay with it, well I guess I will let you get back to your mission and I will see you back at the guild." said Gildarts giving him a wave goodbye, while the Salamander took off after the Rune Knight that got a ways away during his little chat with Gildarts.

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. So as always feel free to leave me a review.**

 **Until the next Chapter**

 **Digem Out!**


	5. The Reason Revealed

Chapter 5: The Reason Revealed

"So what is the Council going to do about the Salamander going on this killing spree?" asked a woman whose only definable feature was her orange hair that flowed out of the brown hooded cloak that she was wearing.

"Sorry my Lady but they seem completely fine with letting him go about killing off all of the dark mages since it makes their work easier." stated the Rune Knight.

"Of course they would, but there has to be some way for them to turn on him. Have none of your other spies been able to figure out how to get the Council to start hunting him down. Because I am a huge fan of having other people do my work for me." replied the referred to as Lady.

"Actually there is one way but it's never going to happen though." replied the Rune Knight.

"And what way is that?" asked Lady with excitement.

"He has to start killing people who are innocent, but like I said before that is never going to happen." answered the Rune Knight.

"You are correct my dear little pawn, but that doesn't mean we can't make it look like he did." replied Lady with a sinister grin that could barely be seen.

"That is very clever my Lady, what do you want me and my men to do?" asked the Rune Knight who was also now grinning.

"Simple I want you to continue to keep doing what you are, every little bit of information that you guys learn is more valuable than you could possibly know. All of the other dark guilds are willing to pay us whatever we ask as long as we keep them just one step ahead of the council. My favorite saying is knowledge is power and we are proof of that, take what you just told me about how to deal with the Salamander. I already know five guilds that would give us all of their jewels for that information and then they will go ahead and even carry out the act for us. Isn't it brilliant, we are getting paid for someone doing what we want done." said Lady while quietly laughing to herself.

"You truly are the smartest Master out there." stated the Rune Knight when they all of a sudden they started to hear this earie tune being whistled from the shadows.

"Who's there?" asked Lady as she looked over to wear the whistling was coming from.

"Just little old me." replied the Salamander as he emerged from the shadows with a bag over his right shoulder.

"And who are you and how did you get past my guards?" she asked wondering how they let this man slip by.

"From what I have gathered you are one of the most knowledgeable mages about all thing related to dark guilds yet you don't know who I am?" asked the Salamander with his own grin that sent shivers down the spins of the two mages in front of him. Because along with that grin his glowing red eyes made the Salamander down right creepy.

"No I haven't sir, so would you please tell me how you got past my guards and who you are." stated Lady.

"Here's how I got past your guards and for who I am you were just talking about me moment's ago." replied the Salamander as he tossed the bag to them that once hitting the ground spilled its contents out. This happened to be the heads of the guards that Lady had brought with her.

"S-S-Salamander?" they both stuttered.

"Correct my new two best friends. Because like you said Lady, knowledge is power, and you have a lot of it which I am soon going to be taking. And you mister Rune Knight are also full of knowledge on who is all corrupt inside of the Council. But you did forget one thing Lady all of that knowledge means nothing if you can't protect if properly." answered the Salamander as stalked towards them.

"What do you want from us?" asked Lady knowing that she had absolutely no chance against the Salamander since she always relied on her brains to get her through life.

"Simple you are going to tell me everything that you know about all of the dark guilds out there, and then after that you are going to keep getting me more information on them." stated the Salamander with a sinister grin.

"And what if I don't agree to this?" asked Lady.

"Then you get to learn firsthand what Rising Tide did to me for four years and you would be amazed at all of the things that I picked up while I was staying there. Did you know that there is a place on all mages that if you poke it with an needle that it literarily feels like you are being cut all over your body from the inside." explained Salamander with a grin that said he really wanted to show her what it felt like.

"I think that I am okay with working for you Salamander." stated Lady already plotting how to get out of this and be rid of the Salamander once and for all.

"Now you mister Rune Knight are going to put those cuffs on Lady so that she can't escape." said Salamander as he pointed to an iron beam that he wanted her cuffed to. They both walked over to it and were about to cuff her to it while she was hugging it.

"No I want her back to it so she will be able to see what we are going to do, and what will happen to her if she doesn't cooperate with me." said Salamander with a happy voice that was extremely unsettling when it was so deep and gravelly.

"Now what Salamander Sir?" stuttered the Rune Knight as he came back to him.

"I just need to put this on you so that we can start the interrogation." said Salamander as he hit the Rune Knight with his open palm to the Rune Knight's chest.

"Why does my chest burn?" asked the Rune Knight as he clutched his chest.

"Pay that no mind my friend, so how many other people do you know that are corrupt in the Council like you?" asked the Salamander with a big grin.

"Only two others." replied the Rune Knight who then screamed out in agony and fell to the ground in pain as he writhed in pain.

"I can't believe that you would lie to me on the very first question friend. You are braver then I thought which only means we are going to have so much fun." said Salamander with a look of disgust as he watched the Rune Knight squirm in pain.

"What are you doing to him?" asked Lady.

"Simple Lady, I put a special seal on him that if he ever lies to me he will feel extreme pain throughout his entire body. I really didn't know that there were so many cool things that even someone like me could do with magic if you are willing to get your hands dirty that is." replied Salamander giving her a grin. A few moments passed and the Rune Knight finally stopped moving about in pain.

"Okay now will you please tell me the real amount this time." said Salamander with a growl that scared Lady just from hearing it.

"Fine we have fifty men." replied the Rune Knight who then once again started to scream but this time louder.

"Look at you, you crafty fox trying to get past it with a technicality of only telling men when I asked for people. Oh and did I also forget to mention that each time it gets worse silly me, I am just so forgetful sometimes." stated the Salamander as he started to glare at the man in pain at his feet with complete contempt.

"Okay so this time you better not lie to me friend and I just realized that I needed to rephrase my question. How many employees or members are corrupt or are working with either of you two?" asked Salamander.

"One hundred and twenty." answered the Rune Knight who didn't fall over in pain.

"Good you told the truth, but it took you two times to learn so you need to be punish." said Salamander as he snapped his fingers and the Rune Knight fell over again and did the process all over again.

"Why did you do that, he told you the truth?" shouted Lady over the screams of the Knight.

"I already told you both; he needs to learn his lesson. While I also just wanted to show you what I could do with the seal and man is it a unique one. I had to spend so much time going through all of the files at every dark guild I destroyed to finally get it just right." explained Salamander who was now right in front of Lady.

"What can it all do?" asked Lady who couldn't help herself from trying to learn more.

"A lot, and I plan to show you it all my dear friend. Because you are getting yours right now." replied Salamander as he placed his hand on her stomach and Lady let out a small gasp because of the pain.

"Now mister Rune Knight you are going to write down a list of every person that is corrupt and where they live. I also want to know where the evidence of them being corrupt is, since I know that you guys definitely have it so that you can force them to remain loyal to you and probably even black mail them. And if you can't do that you will write down were to go that will allow me to find out more and tell me if it is someone who I need to talk to or simply something that I have to read. Oh and the seal works on what you write as well, it actually works on all forms of communication." commanded Salamander as he gave the Rune Knight a pen and a small pad of paper that could fit in his pocket.

It took the Rune Knight three more hours to complete it and was only tortured once by the seal.

"Alright now it's time for Lady to see a new demonstration of the seal. I want you to repeat what you told her about what I would need to do for the Council to start hunting me." said Salamander with a grin, but when the Rune Knight tried all that happen was he started to scream in pain again but this time he started coughing up blood.

"What's happening to him?" asked Lady with concern for her own wellbeing.

"It's another feature of that seal I burned into both of you. If he ever tries to say anything at all about me that will happen to him and it's just like the other one, it keeps getting worse each time he tries. If he tried to use telepathy to tell someone something about me he would have started to bleed from his ears and probably not be able to do who knows what because that seal uses his own magic to attack the thing that was trying to go against the rules." explained Salamander.

"How are you able to do this?" asked Lady with a scared expression.

"You see Rising Tide did a lot of experiments on me with seals and I of course was listening the whole time which gave me quite a bit of knowledge on that subject. And when I started to go through all stuff that you dark mages have at your guilds I found some very interesting things. Since you guys are dark mages and all, some of the things that you guys have are just mind blowing and might I add very illegal. So while looking at these things I found some seals that were forbidden from ever being used, so making a few adjustments to them while combining the things that I want gave me that seal on your stomach. That there is a Salamander original seal that after people discovers everything that it can do will be also very illegal, but don't worry Lady no one but me can actually use this seal since it requires my magic to work." explained Salamander with a frown.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" asked Lady.

"Because you will never be able to tell anyone else since it pertains to me my dear. Also I haven't had anyone to talk to for quite a while, the most I hear are people begging for their lives or people screaming out in pain. Oh my gosh I forgot about the very beginning of each fight when all of the dark mages are so cocky saying that they are going to kill me." answered the Salamander still frowning.

"What are you going to do now?" asked Lady.

"Show you what else it can do; now this is something that I can activate or will be activated if you try to undo the seal. Oh yeah you will definitely not like the consequences if you try to show or tell anyone about the seal but that is the last demonstration Lady. So here we go and watch as your friend experiences his magic being destroyed, making him no longer a mage." said the Salamander and then snapped his fingers again, once again the Rune Knight was in complete agony but this was the worst by far, so much so that he started to beg for Salamander to kill.

"Don't worry mister Rune Knight, you will die but it will be by your own actions." said Salamander with a grin. The Rune Knight finally stopped clawing at the floor and screaming in pain after a few more minutes.

"Okay now try and do any sort of magic that you used to be able to do." demanded Salamander with a growl and the Rune Knight did as he was told but couldn't do anything and dropped to floor in complete defeat.

"So the rumors were true." stated Lady.

"Yes it is my Lady and you now have that on you. So let's get to final thing that the seal can do, mister Rune Knight please show Lady your seal. If you do all of your pain and suffering will go away it a matter of seconds." said Salamander with a grim expression. The Rune Knight did as he was told because he was now just a shell of what he used to be, as he removed his shirt to show Lady his seal it started to glow and he then dropped to his knees and let out a scream that Lady would never forget. The Rune Knight was then consumed in black and red flames and after a few seconds the flames dispersed there wasn't a trace left of him.

"T-t-that w-w-was…" stuttered out Lady.

"Yes it was and you can thank Rising Tide for this entirely my Lady. It is because of them that I am this way now they made me into the perfect dark mage hunter the world has ever known. So shall we get to your interrogation my Lady, and how about you tell me all of the plans that you thought of to try and get out of this or get me killed." asked the Salamander as he was right in her face and all Lady could do was gulp and then tell him absolutely everything.

 **A little over a week later at Fairy Tail:**

"Master we have found out a lot of really disturbing things just recently." said Levy as she came into his office.

"I assume you want to call a meeting then?" asked Master Makarov.

"I think that it would be for the best Master." answered Levy which was followed right after with an alarm going off.

"Of course he would come back at a time like this." said Master Makarov as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Do you think he knows yet?" asked Levy with concern.

"No he doesn't Levy since the guild hall is still in one piece." replied Master Makarov as they headed to the main hall.

"Listen up brats; we are having another meeting concerning Natsu and what he went through at Rising Tide. So now is the time to leave if you don't want to hear all of the details." announced Master Makarov which got a huge portion of the guild to leave. The only ones left where the ones that grew up with Natsu and have known him for years.

"Master what are we going to do about Gildarts?" asked Cana knowing how her dad was going to go ballistic at finding out the news about Natsu.

"The only thing that we can do Cana, and that is telling him the truth." replied Master Makarov with a frown as they all waited for the Ace of their guild to show up. They all waited in complete silence for a few more minutes.

"Hi everyone, what's with everyone leaving as soon as I got back and why does everyone have such sad faces?" asked Gildarts with that grin that only he can do.

"So you haven't heard about Natsu yet?" asked Master Makarov with a frown.

"Oh yea I actually ran into Natsu about a week ago while he was on a job so we didn't get to talk much. Is he back yet because he never told me where he disappeared to and what was he doing there?" asked Gildarts while looking around for his favorite member of Fairy Tail right after his daughter Cana that is.

"You saw him?" asked a few members at once in shock.

"Yea, why is that surprising and when did he turn back up?" asked Gildarts as he took a seat.

"Gildarts the thing is Natsu hasn't come back yet." replied Master Makarov.

"What are you talking about Master; I just talked with him a week ago. Is this one of his stupid jokes, where he's going to jump out of somewhere and try to get a sneak attack?" asked Gildarts with a big grin as he scanned around trying to figure out where he was probably hiding.

"Dad, Master isn't joking Natsu hasn't come back and we just only figured out where he was and what happened to him about a month and a half ago." said Cana with a frown. Gildarts instantly knew that this was no longer a joke since Cana never called him dad even though he told her to do so constantly.

"So what happened, and is that why everyone is depressed?" asked Gildarts once again noticing the atmosphere of the guild.

"Yes it is dad, and there is a lot that we need to tell you. But could you promise me that you will try and keep calm and not storm out of here until we tell you everything?" asked Cana with sad eyes that were almost in tears just from knowing how hard this was going to hit him.

"I promise honey that I will try my best." replied Gildarts with a little grin.

"Just remember that you promised me that Dad, you can go ahead now Master." stated Cana with a very sad smile.

"There is no easy way to tell you this Gildarts so I am just going to come out and tell you everything that we know so far so please just listen until the end." said Master Makarov with a frown and got a nod of agreement from Gildarts. So Master Makarov then told him everything that had learned about Natsu's disappearance and what happened to him and how they were now going through all of the files and videos to try and figure out what exactly happened to him. He then in formed Gildarts of what Natsu's has been doing since he escaped and that was the reason why they were looking into what caused him to turn into this, because up till now it seemed that he was still defiant and wouldn't have turned into this, at least that's what they gathered from the files and videos. The whole time Master Makarov was talking Gildarts just had his head down so that no one could see his eyes.

"And that is all I know Gildarts, we were just about to have another meeting to discuss some new findings when we learned that you were coming." said Master Makarov. Gildarts just got up without saying a word and walked over to a side of the guild and placed his hand against the wall putting some of his wait on it and let out a sigh.

"This is exactly fucking way I wanted to search for him myself Master!" shouted Gildarts as that whole side of the guild and a very big radius around him was reduced to small bricks and stopping just shy of the nearest member.

"Dad you promised that you would keep calm." said Cana quietly.

"This is me calm right now Cana, if I wasn't there wouldn't be a Fairy Tail anymore." Gildarts shouted at his own daughter showing how mad he actually was right now, since he would never do that to her.

"I am sorry Gildarts, I should have listened to you and let you go." replied Master Makarov with his head down in shame.

"Dam fucking right you should have listened to me Master, and since you didn't Natsu had to go through that hell for four entire years. Those fuckers at Rising Tide are lucky that Natsu finished them all off otherwise I would have and it would have be worse than anything he did to them." shouted Gildarts angrily having the urge to hit something.

"I know Gildarts and that mistake is going to stay with me until the day that I die. Which is why I am trying to make up for it and help Natsu right now." said Makarov not being able to look at Gildarts in the eyes.

"Make up for it, sorry Master but there is no way to make up for this mistake. I just knew something was wrong, Natsu would have never left Happy without telling him something. That right there was all that we needed to know that he didn't leave for some training mission like you thought Master. I knew that I shouldn't have listened to you and because of that I couldn't help Natsu when he needed me the most." said Gildarts sadly almost brought to tears just thinking about what Natsu went through and it was his fault.

"You're right Gildarts this is something that I can never make up to him. But I have to at least try and help him in any way that I can." said Makarov who was also almost crying since he too believed that this was his fault.

"Please tell me Master, how do you plan on helping him because it seems pretty clear to me that all Natsu wants to do is make sure that there is no dark guild left standing after he's done with them? So are you going to start killing them off with him because I am all for that." stated Gildarts as he glared at Master Makarov waiting for his response. Once again the remaining guild members were startled by Gildarts comments that all of them knew he was one hundred percent serious about, because that look in his eyes made it very clear.

"No Gildarts, we will not be taking such rash actions. What we are going to do is figure out what caused Natsu to turn this way and help bring him back to us." replied Master Makarov with a frown, not liking how serious Gildarts was about going out there and helping Natsu kill dark mages.

"AHAHAHAHAH what in the hell are you talking about Master, we know why Natsu is the way he is now. You just fucking told me all about it Master, it's a god dam miracle that he is even alive much less able to actually talk with people and do what he's doing now. No other mage would have survived that and come out as sane as Natsu did, we're lucky that he isn't destroying god dam towns every single day. And you say you want to bring him back Master? Sorry but I really doubt that there is any coming back from what he went through, so you should learn to accept the new Natsu or should I say Salamander." Gildarts laughed sadly at how fucked up this was. Something like this should have never happened, especially to someone as kind and caring as Natsu.

"You're wrong Gildarts, up until a month before he escaped he still appeared to be our Natsu. I truly don't know how he did it, but he somehow didn't break and continued to be the man that we all loved and cared about. But then something happened and he became what he is now, so if we figure out what happened we could still bring him back." said Master Makarov hopefully.

"HAHAHAHA you might be partially right there Master, but him going back to who he was is never going to happen. We might get lucky and he'll go back to being similar but there is no way in hell that he will ever be the same. Not after what they did and what he is now doing to all of them, because that is one thing that you know can't be just swept away. Killing someone is something that stays with you for the rest of your life." said Gildarts while laughing bitterly.

"You are correct once again Gildarts. But could you give us a description of what he looks like and what he was wearing? Any of the poor bastards that he left alive would only describe him as a monster or demon covered in red flames." asked Master Makarov with a frown.

"Their lucky to be alive, but sure why not when I literally bumped into Natsu and I got a good look at him. Natsu's changed a lot, actually I really only knew that it was him because of his hair color, which is actually like yours now Gajeel. He was wearing a tattered black cloak with red lining and his scarf is also now completely red along with the wrappings all over his hands to his forearms. He was also wearing a red sleeveless shirt that I think had a dragon on in and over top of that he had black vest that had red trimmings on it. He had a red belt that had a whole lot of pouches on it, and the rest were black pants and shoes but there were some red design at the bottom of his pant legs." explained Gildarts with a sad frown. Wishing that he knew all of this before he met Natsu, what he would have done if he did he really didn't know but it would have been better than just walking away.

"Thank you Gildarts and if I recall correctly you thought that he was on a job?" asked Master Makarov.

"Yea he said that he couldn't talk since he was on a mission and then took off. If I would have to guess I would say that he was following someone in Crocus." replied Gildarts as he finally calmed down enough to be near the rest of Fairy Tail without being afraid of hurting them. So he sat down at the bar with a bottle of vodka and started to drink away.

"I think I know what Natsu was doing." said Mira.

"Then please tell Mira." said Master Makarov.

"So my friend at Sorcerer's Weekly has always been sending me an early issue of the magazine if it ever has anything on Natsu in it." replied Mira.

"Don't you mean the Salamander the new scourge of the dark underworld?" asked Grey.

"No I meant Natsu Grey." said Mira as she glared at him.

"So as I was saying Natsu has been very busy. Apparently a day before he met Gildarts he snuck into a dark guild and killed all of the members while they were sleeping in their beds except for the Master and four other members. He apparently battled the Master and then decapitated him so that one of the members that he spared could take it with them as they turned themselves in. He of course took away their magic but this time he told them that some of their friends were still alive and waiting to be rescued as the place was being burned down, when in fact no one was left alive and he just wanted them to see his work." said Mira.

"How does any of this deal with what Natsu was doing in Crocus when he bumped into me?" asked Gildarts with a frown.

"I was just getting to that Gildarts and I just thought that you might want to know what he was doing before. Natsu somehow found out about some dark mages that have infiltrated numerous parts of the Council and has been eliminating them while exposing them for being dark mages. So far most of them have been Rune Knights and a few other employees here and there but the article said they are now wondering how far up does the corruption actually goes and if the Salamander will stop at nothing until all dark mages are gone?" explained Mira.

"That's why I have never trusted the Council." stated Gildarts getting a whole bunch of nods of agreement.

"I can imagine that the Council is not too happy about that." stated Erza while shaking her head in disgust at how corrupt apparently the Council was.

"Fuck the Council, they let a guild like Rising Tide exist." shouted Gildarts in rage at how the Council was completely useless.

"Okay everyone we can bad mouth the Council at a later time, but we initially called this meeting since our research group has found something. Levy if you would?" asked Master Makarov after quieting down the rest of them.

"Well Lucy and Freed found out that they practiced some really illegal seals on Natsu and tried to come up with their own. They did this as experiments and also as sometimes just plain torture, but I will let Freed explain what he and Lucy also found out." said Levy and then promptly sat back down.

"First off the difference from experiments and torture is pretty much none existent for Rising Tide so Lucy and I have been working together now and found some very disturbing things. The first one that was extremely noteworthy was they started to force Natsu to consume other types of magic that weren't fire knowing how painful that was for him. But they stumbled upon an interesting thing that makes Natsu unique, which is that he can apparently consume any type of slayer magic without having as much pain as other magic types. Now this is just their theory since they were never stupid enough to actually test it but, they thought that he would now be able to use all of the slayer types of magic that they gave him just like how he can use Laxus's lightning now." explained Freed.

"That's just terrible." said Wendy knowing how painful it would be to eat a different magic.

"How many did they force him to consume?" asked Erza who couldn't help but remember the pain that Natsu went through at the Tower of Heaven when he ate all of those different types of magic at once.

"Not as many as you would think, and I believe they were afraid that it might be giving him too much power. So they only gave him lighting god slayer, sky god slayer, fire god slayer and finally sky dragon slayer." answered Freed with a frown.

"How did they get all of that rare magic?" asked Cana.

"We don't know but that isn't even the rarest thing that they gave to him." replied Freed while he shook his head no longer wanting to talk about this crap anymore. It was starting to get to him, watching hour after hour of one of their strongest members being experimented and tortured upon.

"What did they give him that is rarer than that kind of magic?" asked Grey raising an eyebrow.

"They implanted a dragon's lacrima into him Grey." shouted Lucy who knew that Freed didn't want to continue and she has been extremely angry since learning this.

"They put a fire dragon's lacrima into Salamander?" asked Gajeel with concern that most were surprised to hear from him.

"I wish it was just that." stated Freed who got up and walked away not even looking back at them.

"It was supposedly a death dragon's lacrima and all that we really know is that it didn't kill Natsu. So Rising Tide believed that you could indeed have a multiple element dragon slayer and were actually planning on putting another one into Natsu but he put a stop to that plan." explained Lucy who was seething with anger right now.

"If I could go to hell and bring those fucking bastards back from the dead I would do that just so I could kill them in the most painful way possible and do it over and over again." shouted Gajeel as he then started to hit anything and everything in his path, luckily everyone was smart enough to get out of his way and let him vent his anger.

"Why did that just set Gajeel off?" asked Laxus.

"I mean no disrespect by this Laxus, but most first generation dragon slayers find the use of dragon lacrima as pretty much the worst act you could ever do. Gajeel and Natsu are fine with you, Sting and Rogue since you were all young when it happened and didn't really have a choice in the matter. They see it as cheating and disrespectful to the dragon that died which is how those lacrimas are made. So Natsu having that done to him was probably one of the worst things that they ever could have done to him, because he is now no longer a first generation dragon slayer and feels like he betrayed the teachings of Igneel most likely." explained Wendy who was almost in tears.

"Don't worry Wendy, none taken, and that does kind of explain why Natsu and I didn't always see eye to eye on somethings." replied Laxus with sad grin.

"Dear god, how could they do something like that to him?" asked Mira.

"The kind of people that did what we now believe caused Natsu to snap and become the Salamander." answered Levy with a frown as she watched Gajeel still take his anger out on the guild's furniture.

"Wait you learned what caused Natsu to go kill crazy?" asked Erza wanting to know what could possible do that to Natsu of all people.

"Yes and it also deals with Subject 8." replied Levy as she still watched Gajeel.

"Levy if you could please tell us?" asked Master Makarov.

"Oh I'm sorry about that. So as you know subject 8's purpose was to be a kind of torture for Natsu, but it was actually all a big plan to finally break him. They got her and put her in the same room so that during this terrible ordeal that they would form a strong bond between each other and would rely on each other for support. They did this all with the plans of taking all of that way from Natsu on the day that he escaped." explained Levy as she started to cry.

"How were they going to take something like that away from them, those are things that no one can destroy?" asked Master Makarov who was concerned about Levy but needed to know what happened.

"They killed her Master, they killed Subject 8 right in front of Natsu while he couldn't do anything to saver her!" shouted out Levy as she started to cry. Everyone else just remained completely silent; not being able to do anything at that sudden revelation of what made Natsu into the Salamander.

 **At the Council Meeting Chambers:**

"I told you that this would happen but you didn't listen to me." stated councilman Fujimoto.

"Yes you did Fujimoto." replied the Chairman with a smile.

"So are we now going to have the Salamander killed?" asked councilman Fujimoto with a grin.

"You are incredibly stupid aren't you Fujimoto, that is the last thing that we want to do. The news would instantly know that we were trying to cover up how incompetent we have become with preforming our duties. Granted Salamander has made us once again look like complete fools, but he was right to do so. He exposed to all of Fiore how easy it was for dark mages to sneak into the Council. And once again Fujimoto the Salamander is only killing dark mages, so I as the Chairman of the Council am making it a ruling right now that we will do nothing to hinder the Salamander and his quest to apparently ride the Council of all dark mages." stated the Chairman with a grin.

"You can't be serious?" asked councilman Fujimoto.

"Oh but I am Fujimoto, and I believe that the only person that would ever oppose such a ruling would be mages that might have reasons to be afraid that the Salamander is coming for them. I know that I have nothing to fear from the Salamander, but you Fujimoto have been constantly demanding for his head as soon as he reappeared. Now why is that Fujimoto?" asked the Chairman.

"Because he is a cold blooded murder." stated councilman Fujimoto who was slightly nervous now.

"You see that wouldn't be a problem Fujimoto if that is how you acted to all mages that committed murder. But I remember a few months ago you were saying that we should be lenient on a dark mage that slaughtered a family for no reason. And now that I am thinking about it you have always been very lenient until the Salamander appeared, so why is that Fujimoto?" asked the Chairman with a grin.

"Because I realized that I was wrong before and that we should be stricter when dealing with murder." said councilman Fujimoto.

"And we keep telling you that what the Salamander is doing is not murder Fujimoto, but since you are now in favor of death as a consequence for the act of murder. I think we should revisit all of those times that we were lenient and execute them, what do you think Fujimoto?" asked the Chairman still grinning as the rest of the council just sat quietly.

"It would look bad if we went back on our previous rulings, but if that is what you want Chairman then I am all for it." replied councilman Fujimoto with an angry expression.

"Good with that settled we will end this meeting and discuss next time who will be executed." said the Chairman with a sly grin.

 **At an Unknown Location:**

The Salamander can be seen sleeping on the ground in the empty cave that he was at.

 **Flashback:**

"What the hell do you want?" asked Natsu as he growled at the Master of Rising Tide.

"Look at you still as defiant as the first day that we captured you. And I told you what I wanted that day my little Salamander, and that was to break you and today is going to be that day." replied the Master with a smile that would make babies cry instantly.

"You've spent four years trying, what makes today different?" asked Natsu with a confident smirk.

"Today I am going to kill your little girlfriend Salamander and you will have to just sit there and watch." replied the Master as he started to maniacally laugh at Natsu.

"I swear to god that if you do this I will burn you alive if it's the last thing do." said Natsu as he slammed into the bars of his cell while straining against his chains.

"That's rich Salamander you are completely helpless right now, meaning that you won't be able to keep your promise to her. And if I remember correctly you don't break your promises Salamander, so what are you going to do?" asked the Master grinning like a mad man.

"I'll do anything, just leave her alone she's already suffered enough." replied Natsu as he dropped to his knees.

"That would have been enough to save her if this was year one but you had to be stubborn and not break, so now there is nothing that you can offer me that I want Salamander. The only thing I want is to watch the look in your eyes as she dies before you. Knowing that this was all your fault, if you had died earlier then none of this would have happened to her. Not only that but also that you failed to keep that sweet promise to her about making it out of here alive." said the Master as the woman was brought to her knees facing Natsu.

"I promise you this you fucking bastard that if you do this I will kill every last one of your filthy kind until the day I die." shouted Natsu knowing that right now it was just an empty threat.

"AHAHAHAH man that is rich, but I like to consider myself a nice guy so I will let you have a few last words." replied the Master while taking the gag that was in the woman's mouth.

"Natsu don't you listen to him, none of this was your fault." she said as soon as the gag was gone.

"But he's …" was all that he could get out before she cut him off.

"I don't want to hear any of that bullshit Natsu you are not at fault for what these psychos did. Now promise me that you won't blame yourself for any of this Natsu." said the woman.

"I promise, just like my first promise to you which I will still keep." replied Natsu as he started to fight against his chains and try to save her. This only caused all of the members of Rising Tide to start laughing at his miserable attempts.

"Natsu, Natsu calm down you have already kept that promise." said the woman which caused Natsu to stop his attempts.

"What are you talking about were both still in here?" asked Natsu.

"Of course you wouldn't know Natsu. But I was already dead by the time that you made that promise to me Natsu. Not physically, but I was already gone well at least until you made that promise to me that is. You brought me back Natsu, you gave me a reason to keep living when I had already given up. Which means that you actually did more than you promised Natsu, you gave me a second life that I got to spend with you." explained the women while crying.

"I still don't get it, this was a terrible place to have a second life." shouted Natsu as he too started to cry with her.

"It wasn't all that bad especially the time I spent talking to you and you telling me about all the adventure that you went on with your team from Fairy Tail." replied the woman with a big smile.

"Don't worry I will fix this, just give me a few more seconds." said Natsu as he franticly tried to break his chains.

"Remember that I told you to not make a promise to girl that you can't keep, but that wasn't a promise was it. Now remember Natsu this wasn't your fault and you kept your first promise to me so please keep the second one as well." said the woman while crying yet still smiling at him.

"I will, and why are you smiling?" asked Natsu while crying.

"Because I got to be with you till the very end Natsu, and I was hoping that you would give me one of yours since whenever you did this it always seemed to get me to smile back." replied the woman still smiling at him.

"Okay, how could I have been so stupid." said Natsu as he then smiled back at her with all of the emotions that he could get.

"That's the smile that got me to fall in love with you Natsu." said the woman with the happiest smile Natsu had ever seen which made him smile genuinely back at her for a brief second. That is until a knife slit the woman's throat from ear to ear, but she still kept that smile on her face.

"That was getting too much about love for my taste." stated the Master as he held the knife that killed her in his hands. The only thing that Natsu could do was start saying her name over and over out loud as it got louder and louder.

"Looks like I finally broke you Salamander." said the Master with a smug smile that was soon lost because Natsu stopped saying her name and switched to a roar that brought everyone in the room to their knees while covering their ears.

There was a loud explosion that went off during the roar that wasn't heard by any since the roar over powered it. As soon as it stop they all looked at the cell and were all now too scared to make a single movement, since where there used to be a helpless mage now stood a dragon in human form and it was beyond pissed.

"You are correct, you did break me but I will still keep all of the promises that I have made. So do you know what that means guys?" asked Natsu as he literally walked through the cells bars since the melted before he even got there. No one answered because they were completely frozen in fear by the monster that they had just created.

"That means you're all going to die now." said Natsu as he launched himself at them and started to rip them apart.

 **End of Flashback:**

The Salamander woke up with a growl.

"Thank god I only ever need a few hours of sleep, so I don't have to keep reliving that day." thought the Salamander as he headed outside of the cave.

"Well let's go visit some old friends." said the Salamander out loud as he then headed into the mountains while whistling that creepy tune that he always seemed to be doing.

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope that you enjoyed it. I don't really have much to say here so as always feel free to leave me a review.**

 **Until the next Chapter**

 **Digem Out!**


	6. The Former Dark Mages

Chapter 6: The Former Dark Mages

"So what are we going to do now Master?" asked Erza being the first one to compose herself after that shocking revelation.

"I honestly don't know Erza that is something that can't be fixed very easily." replied Master Makarov.

"And everything else could?" asked a now drunk Gildarts.

"Easier than this Gildarts, we all know how much Natsu cares for his friends. And having to go through something like that would literally be the worst kind of torture that they ever could have done to Natsu." replied Master Makarov with a frown prominently displayed on his face.

"Subject 8 was someone that Natsu already knew before she was brought there, and we aren't missing any female members so who could it be?" asked Lucy while thinking out loud.

"Natsu knows a lot of people outside of Fairy Tail Lucy, so they probably just grabbed one of them." replied Levy after calming down thanks to Gajeel.

"That means it could have been a member form a different guild." stated Erza.

"But wouldn't Subject 8's guild have started to look for her after being gone for a full year?" asked Lucy.

"Not if Rising Tide got her to somehow convince her guild that she would have been gone for a long time." answered Levy who was getting excited that they might be able to figure out who subject 8 really was.

"How would they have gotten her to do something like that?" asked Wendy.

"Probably tortured her until she complied with their demands." said Erza as she clenched her fists in anger.

"But how did they actually convince her guild while not allowing her to get a message out?" asked Lucy.

"I have been thinking about that and the safest way for them to accomplish this without Subject 8 getting a secret message out would be having her write a letter. They would make her write exactly what they told her to and nothing more or less, and even if it sounded a bit off most of her guild members would believe it just because of the hand writing being the same." explained Levy.

"So all we need to do is contact the other guilds and see if one of their female members have been gone for more than a year and their last contact with her was just a letter." stated a determined Erza.

"Not that I am not interested in the identity of Subject 8, but how is any of this going to help Natsu?" asked an angry Grey causing all of the women to stop and think about that.

"We won't know if this can help Natsu until we figure out who it is. Besides this is the only lead that we have Grey and I can't watch or read any more about what Natsu went through." stated Levy with a glare.

"Grey's right on this one ladies, it's not going to help Natsu and I can't think of anything that actually will." slurred Gildarts who now had a stupid grin on his face.

"Gildarts I think you've had enough." said Master Makarov with a frown.

"I know when I have had enough Master, and I am nowhere near it right now because I can still feel the guilt of not going to look for Natsu. And because of that simple mistake we now have lost Natsu and are left with the Salamander. A mage that is hunting dark mages as if they are each worth a million jewels." said Gildarts as he took a big swig from the bottle in his hand.

"Natsu is not lost yet Gildarts otherwise you wouldn't have thought that he just changed his look when you bumped into him." stated Makarov.

"Well I am going for a walk I'll be back some time." slurred Gildarts as he got up and could barely walk out of Fairy Tail.

"Is he going to be alright?" asked Mira who was concerned for Gildarts since he was completely blaming himself for all of this because he didn't go and look for Natsu once he heard about his disappearance.

"I really don't know about that either." said Master Makarov as he shook his head.

"I will go and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." said Cana as she got up and went outside to follow her completely drunk father.

"So as Erza asked earlier what are we going to do now Master?" asked Wendy as she looked at Master Makarov with hopeful eyes.

"I think that you ladies are correct with trying to figure out who Subject 8 is. It might not help us with Natsu but we will be able to inform her family and friends what happened to her so that they can grieve for her properly. As for those who want to find Natsu my only thought is that everyone keep an eye out for him while out on jobs and for those that want results faster form groups to try and find him that have at least one dragon slayer in them. Otherwise I doubt that we will ever be able to track Natsu down." answered Master Makarov and everyone just nodded their heads in agreement and then either left or started to form their own little teams to start the hunt.

"Natsu if you only knew how much this was hurting everyone to see you like this." thought Master Makarov with a frown that was slowly becoming his normal expression.

 **In the basement of a ruined castle nestled in a mountain range that is seldom traveled:**

"So Jellal, what is our next plan of action?" asked Meredy.

"We continue with what we are doing right now." replied Jellal.

"She was asking about Natsu Dragneel." said Cobra with a smirk.

"Stop reading my thoughts Cobra!" shouted Meredy with a ticked off face.

"I don't know what you want me to do about that Meredy." said Jellal with a frown.

"I was hoping that you knew of some way to turn Natsu back to how he used to be." replied Meredy with a hopeful expression.

"Sorry Meredy but he isn't under any sort of spell, you read that article about what he went through. I am amazed he's still alive and can actually think clearly enough to do what he's doing." said Jellal while shaking his head in disbelief.

"I didn't know that Salamander had this in him." said Cobra with a grin.

"You can say that again Cobra, he used to be so high and mighty when he was with Fairy Tail." said Angel with a neutral expression.

"I am impressed with how fast he's getting around." said Racer with a grin.

"It's truly sad that he has fallen from the path of love." said Hoteye with a sad expression.

"I personally like the new Salamander, he's pretty much doing what we are but his solution is more permanent." stated Midnight with a small grin.

"You have a point there Midnight." said Cobra.

"Wow I really didn't know I had fans of my work." said a man who was standing on the stairs that led out of the basement they were in.

"Who the hell are you and how did you get past my wards?" asked Jellal as everyone got into a fighting stance.

"Settle down everyone, if I came here for a fight half of you would already be dead." said the man who's hood blocked most of his face so that all they could see was his smirk that he was giving them along with his red glowing eyes.

"Why haven't we just taken this man down?" asked Midnight in pissed tone.

"Midnight we haven't attacked him because he was able to find us and then get past all of my wards without setting any of them off or alerting me. Meaning that he is a very skilled mage and I still can't get a read on his power. Cobra if you would." said Jellal as Cobra then tried to read the man's thoughts and all he got was death and destruction.

"What is wrong with you and why is your thoughts only about death and destruction?" asked Cobra as he took a step back.

"Hey that hurts Cobra, and just a few seconds ago you and Midnight were admiring how I go about my work." replied the man still grinning at them while intently sizing them up with his red eyes.

"Natsu is that you?" asked Meredy who put the every easy pieces together.

"That is what I used to go by a long time ago Meredy, but now I prefer Salamander." said Salamander still grinning at the other mages who still hadn't put down their guards.

"What do you want then Natsu since you already said that you aren't here to fight us?" asked Jellal.

"You know this and that." replied Natsu still grinning.

"Tell me Salamander why are your thoughts so dark?" asked Cobra.

"Oh I just finally realized how the world really works, it's far from the rainbows and puppies that Fairy Tail used to have me believe." replied Salamander as he sat down on the steps.

"You still haven't told us why you are here Natsu." pointed out Jellal with a frown because he didn't like the aura that Natsu was giving off.

"Well I was wondering if I should finish off this independent guild that's members all used to be dark mages, which I am sure you all know what I have been doing with them." replied Salamander while having his grin only grow bigger.

"Like you could take us all on by yourself Salamander." said Midnight in disbelief.

"Oh I most certainly could my dear little Midnight but as I already said I am not here to fight or kill you, yet that is. What I am here for is to get some more information on some of the dark guilds out there and I know that Jellal over there is full of information that I will find quite useful." responded the Salamander still grinning at them like a mad man.

"Why would I give that information to you Natsu when I know that all you are going to do is go out and kill all of them that you find?" asked Jellal.

"Because if you don't then I am going to start killing your guild members since they are all still seen as dark mages." answered Salamander as he lost his grin and it turned into a sneer.

 **"DARK RONDO!"** shouted Midnight as he sent beams of Darkness Magic shooting at Natsu.

 **"DEVOURING ANGELS!"** shouted Angle as she sent round little angels at Natsu right after Midnight's attack.

They all waited for the smoke to clear from the explosion that was created from Midnights attack to see what were the damages dealt to Natsu. As it cleared all of their mouths dropped at the site before them, Natsu was still sitting in his same spot with not a scratch on him while everything else around him was completely destroyed.

"Do you guys want to know a few things that I learned just recently that is quite fascinating?" asked Salamander now having his grin again waiting for them to answer his question but knew that they weren't going to so he would have to just continue.

"Well the first one is that it really doesn't matter what your magic type is if you have enough of it to overpower your enemies, with a few magic types excluded of course." said the Salamander as he got up and dusted off the dirt that was on him.

"There's no way that you should have been able to dodge that attack Salamander since I also used my Reflector Magic." stated Midnight still in shock that his move did nothing.

"Oh I didn't dodge that weak attack Midnight I simply destroyed it along with those little white angels. Oh and those angels are gone permanently by the way Angel." replied Salamander with a sinister grin.

"But how is that possible, they should have just gone back?" asked Angel in disbelief.

"Yes if I had killed them with just my flames that would have been true, but I decided to use something special on them since they annoyed me with just their appearance." answered Natsu still grinning.

"But the only thing that could have done that would be Death Magic." said Angel out loud causing Salamander's grin to only increase.

"No way, you can't have Death Magic and be able to use it that well after such a short amount of time since acquiring it." stated Angel in disbelief.

"HAHAHAHAHA you should see all of your faces right now, and that is just learning about that one little secret that I have. And man do I have a ton of those now, you know what since I really liked those face's you made let's see if I can get you all to make another one? Cobra would you please send me your strongest roar's right at me, if you do this I promise to not kill you for at least a month." said Salamander with a creepy smile on his face that caused the other mages to feel a chill run up their spins.

"Okay I guess **POISON DRAGON'S ROAR!"** shouted Cobra as he sent the biggest roars he could at Salamander hoping that the Salamander's cockiness would allow some of the poison to get him. What Salamander did made all of them almost drop to the ground in disbelief because Salamander just started to suck in the entire roar into his mouth until Cobra stopped.

"Did you really want to die that badly Salamander, because even if you could absorb ninety nine percent of that roar? Just a little bit of that poison coming into contact with your insides will kill you within seconds." asked Cobra quickly wanting to know why Salamander had him murder him.

"That would be true if poisoned worked on me Cobra, also you now gave me your magic so thanks. Let's make that whole me not killing you two months since I forgot that I would get your poison, I really only wanted to show you Cobra that all of your poison attacks won't affect me." said Salamander as he coated his left hand in poison and looked at it with a big smile.

"How in the hell did you do that Salamander and you still haven't told me how you are able to stop me from reading your thoughts and making them all just death and destruction?" asked Cobra who now knew that if he had to fight Natsu he would need to relay on his Sound Magic.

"Just because you and I have so much history together Cobra I'll tell you. You know those four years that I was being tortured and experimented on, well during that time they were able to find out some really interesting things about me. Like how I am able to obtain any form of slayer magic by eating it now this does cause me a lot of pain the first time while also damaging my internal organs. But thanks to another magic I now have I can get rid of the damage just like that." explained Salamander as he snapped his fingers.

"As for how I am able to prevent you from reading my thoughts I really don't know how it happened but I am able to block out all mental attacks or illusions that mages do that focus on the brain. It probably developed in my earlier days at Rising Tide when they thought that they could break me mentally but I proved them wrong on that." continued the Salamander with a grin.

"What the hell happened to you Natsu?" asked Jellal who actually feared Natsu's power before, but here he is with even more magic types and who knows what else making his power unable to read.

"I went to hell Jellal and the Natsu that you guys keep referring to died there and all that left is the Salamander." relied Salamander as he started to laugh to himself.

"Natsu that isn't true, you still have Fairy Tail waiting for you to return to them." said Meredy who was concerned about his sanity now.

"AHAHAHAHAHAH Meredy where was Fairy Tail when I needed them the most I'll tell you no where. They let that shit happen to me for four years and now look at what I've become Meredy. I am no longer a member of Fairy Tail all I am is the monster in the night that will rain hell down on all dark mages, because it's thanks to them that I have become the perfect killing machine." replied Salamander after letting out a creepy chuckle.

"You don't have to be Natsu." stated Meredy.

"It's too late Meredy I have already become one and there is no way that they could see me as anything other than the thing I am now. Now enough chatting about me and how I could annihilate all of you, and let's get back to why I came here, so Jellal tell me what I want to know." said Salamander as he now had a stern expression on his face.

"Sorry Natsu but I can't do that, those mages could still be saved like you saved me." said Jellal while trying to look calm and sure of his decision.

"Jellal you know that if you don't give me what I want one of them is going to die." stated Salamander as he glared at Jellal.

"That is if you are able to take us all on Salamander, indeed you are incredibly strong but you are still just one man." stated Hoteye.

"That is every true but all it will take for me to bring one of you down is just one hit, and poof you'll disappear to never be heard from again. And then I will keep repeating that until it's just me and Cobra in a really bad state with Jellal crying in the corner wishing that he had just given me what I wanted right away." said Salamander with a big grin.

"I am so sick of your shit Salamander." said Racer who then disappeared and they all watched as Racer appeared right behind Natsu and kicked him in the head. But he didn't stop there, Racer continued his quick assault on Natsu hitting him over and over again finally delivering one to his gut that launched him into a wall where he slid down until he was sitting on the floor not moving.

"See you were all bark and no bite Salamander." said Racer with a smug grin.

"AHAHAHAH oh that felt good Racer, I honestly haven't been even attacked at the last two guilds that I destroyed. They were all too afraid to do anything but beg for their lives, oh and don't even get me started on those corrupt Rune Knights every single one of them shit their pants when I got next to them." said Salamander as he popped his neck while still keeping his hood up and getting off of the floor.

"So you want some more Salamander?" asked Racer with a grin.

"Yes because I have figured out how to deal with you without laying a finger on you." replied Salamander with a mischievous grin.

"Racer don't do it." shouted Jellal but it was too late as he watched Racer kick the side of Natsu's face but rather than Natsu getting launched. They watched Racer get hit by black electricity and be launched to the other side of the room where he laid on the ground twitching in pain.

"Oh did I leave out that I have lightning god slayer magic now, so I am going to be nice Jellal and rather than kill Racer I will give you one last chance to tell me what I want to know. Otherwise I am going to show you all another really interesting thing I learned. Oh and if you guys try anything funny I will just snap his scrawny neck like a twig." said Salamander as he picked Racer up by his throat.

"Natsu before you do anything can we have a quick discussion and I promise that it's not a ploy or anything. I just want to discuss why we are both doing the things that we are doing so that we can understand one another." suggested Jellal while the rest of his team were ready to attack Natsu at a moment's notice.

"Okay but I am going to keep shocking Racer here so he remains paralyzed and doesn't try to run from me." stated Natsu with no room for disagreements.

"So Natsu why are you so intent on killing dark mages, before you would have never done anything like that and always saw the good in people no matter how small?" asked Jellal.

"I told you that Natsu died, because like you said Jellal he thought that there was good in everyone but he was wrong. That was made clear while staying at Rising Tide, the things that they did to me and other people are things that no person should get enjoyment out of but they did Jellal. You want to know how I am immune to poison. That happened because the kept on testing different poisons on me and somehow my body adapted to be able to fight it off. But the thing that made me realize that there are people out there who are pure evil was when they realized that they couldn't get to me at all by doing anything to me Jellal. So guess what they did so that they could continue to try and break me Jellal?" asked Salamander as his hold on Racer tightened making it hard for him to breath.

"Natsu I…" started Jellal but was cut off.

"It's Salamander now and that is the last time I am going to tell you." said Salamander as black lightning sparked around him and eventually shocked Racer.

"Salamander I honestly have no idea what they did." replied Jellal who really didn't like the situation that they were in.

"They brought in someone else that I knew and started to torture her in front of me the whole time taunting me saying that it was entirely my fault. And guess what Jellal they were somewhat right, if I had just died sooner than they wouldn't have ever gotten her. Now before any of you say it I know that it wasn't actually my fault, my friend made sure that I knew that. So for the next full year Jellal they tortured the both of us each and every day, and I could handle this because I still had faith and a little bit of hope that someone would rescue us from that hell. Hell I would have died right then and there if it would have gotten her out alive, but that wasn't an option for me Jellal all I could do was watch. So on my last day there the guild Master came and told me that they were going to kill my friend right in front of me, of course I begged him to not do it and that I would literally do anything that he wanted if he would spare her life. And guess what he said Jellal?" asked the Salamander as he started to release more and more of his magic making it hard for any of the other mages to breath.

"I don't know Salamander." choked out Jellal.

"He said that there was absolutely nothing that I could do to save her, nothing Jellal not even becoming a soldier for him. No all he wanted was to watch me as I watched my only friend that I had during those four years die right before me knowing that I couldn't do anything. So tell me Jellal, where was the good in that man who only wanted to watch me suffer?" asked Salamander with a growl.

"Sorry Salamander but I couldn't tell you that." said Jellal as he still felt suffocated by the magic that Natsu was giving off.

"Because there was none Jellal, and that is when I realized that you can't save everyone Jellal that is a childish dream of an idiot. I also realized that if someone had killed that man years earlier none of this would have happened, just think of how many people would still be alive if Erza had killed you when you betrayed her Jellal. How many people is it Jellal, tens no definitely hundreds maybe even thousands?" asked Salamander as he glared at the man.

"It would have been hundreds Salamander." answered Jellal as Salamander started to pull back his magic.

"Now do you understand why I am doing this Jellal, because the old way of just putting them in jail doesn't work? Your group is a perfect example of that, because look at what they did the first time that they got out. They went right back to killing anyone in their path that might have gotten in there way." said Salamander finally as he was back to how he was when he first showed up.

"Yes Salamander you are right that prison doesn't work, but killing them all isn't the solution. I mean if that had been done to all of us then think of all the good that wouldn't have been accomplished." replied Jellal.

"Yes you guys are now doing a good thing which is why I haven't killed you all. But that doesn't mean shit to the people that you have killed, and I am confident that this group is the only group of dark mages that will ever try to write their wrongs even though you can never make up for taking the life of an innocent." stated Salamander.

"We know that Salamander but what else are we supposed to do?" asked Jellal.

"You could keep doing what you're doing now or you could follow my example and help get rid of the disease that has been affecting this country once and for all. I actually really don't care as long as you don't go back to your old ways but what you definitely going to do is give me the information that I want to know otherwise things will get ugly." answered Salamander with a grin.

"You are sounding a lot like that Master right now." stated Jellal instantly regretting it as Salamander once again lost control of his magic and actually sent all of them flying back into the wall.

"I should kill you right now for just saying that Jellal, I am nothing like that man. I am giving you a really easy way to stop me from doing anything that you will come to regret later on. Also I said that I was only going to show you something new that I learned on racer. The killing would happen after that if you still denied me this very simple request." shouted Salamander as poor Racer was being throttled around like a rag doll.

"Salamander you don't need to do this." shouted Jellal as he got up.

"You're right Jellal but that is up to you now isn't it, you have five seconds until I take away Racer's stupid Magic." shouted Salamander.

"What, you can't be serious?" asked Jellal as he staggered forward against the magic Salamander was outputting.

"Five!" shouted Salamander.

"Just wait a minute here." shouted Jellal back.

"Four!" shouted Salamander as he brought back his left hand and coated it in red fire.

"Salamander stop this right now." shouted Jellal.

"Three!" shouted Salamander as the flames started to form a weird emblem on his palm.

"There has to be another way." shouted Jellal who was about to attack Salamander when Meredy shouted at him.

"Jellal just give Salamander what he wants he isn't joking." shouted Meredy while Salamander also shouted the number two.

"You can't be serious…" shouted Jellal as he looked back at his team who all shouted at him.

"Jellal do it now!" shouted all of his guild members except for Racer who looked like he was about to run out of air.

"One!" shouted the Salamander.

"Fine I will tell you everything Salamander." shouted Jellal right before Salamander's plam made contact with Racer's chest.

"Glad that you finally came to your sense Jellal, more like your guild members did knowing that I wasn't messing around." stated Salamander as he stopped leaking out huge waves of magic and tossed the now passed out racer to Hoteye who caught him.

"That was a very dirty tactic Salamander." stated Jellal with a glare.

"Not at all Jellal, I usually don't do the negotiations until most of the guild is already dead. And besides I am not the one who was willing to let my teammate lose his magic just so some filthy dark mages could live longer and commit more crimes." replied Salamander.

"Do you have a pad of paper Salamander, because I have a lot of information?" asked Jellal.

"Here and if I find out that you are lying to me at all Jellal I will come back and take the magic of two of your members while also killing Racer since he annoys me." said Salamander as he tossed Jellal a pad of paper and pen.

"Don't worry Salamander, I don't want to see you ever again." replied Jellal with an angry tone.

"Oh did big bad Jellal not like being forced to do something against his will. Guess what Jellal you did this to people for years so deal with it before I decided to take Racer's magic because of your poor attitude." said Salamander with a growl after which Jellal didn't say a word and just wrote away for the next two hours filling up the whole pad of paper.

"There you go Salamander, that's everything we know about the guilds that you haven't already destroyed." said Jellal as he handed the pad and pen back to Salamander.

"Thanks Jellal and everyone else for your cooperation, well I will be going now and make sure you keep your noses out of trouble otherwise I will be back." said Salamander as he headed to the destroyed stairs as he started to do that whistle that he always did.

"I never want to see that monster again." stated Racer as he rubbed his throat.

"How the hell is he so strong now?" asked Midnight who was terrified when Salamander unleashed his magic and let it run wild.

"I have no idea, but he is definitely not Natsu Dragneel anymore." said Jellal with a frown.

"He was really going to take Racer's magic of snap his neck if we tried anything." stated Angel with a shiver.

"How could he have changed so much?" asked Meredy with a frown since she used to look up to him.

"With what he went through of course he changed Meredy, but he did spare us so maybe there is still a little Natsu in there." replied Hoteye trying his best to cheer Meredy up.

"Really you think so?" asked Meredy with big eyes.

"Hoteye does have a point Meredy we heard him say that we are still classified as dark mages. And he left without killing any of us or taking away our magic." said Jellal who was still pissed off at Salamander but knew that it would be better to cheer up Meredy.

"You have been awfully quite Cobra what's up, did Salamander scare you that much?" asked Midnight with a little grin.

"No he didn't scare me, well not on purpose actually. When Salamander lost control of his magic he also lost control of blocking me from hearing his thoughts." replied Cobra with a still shocked expression.

"What did you hear Cobra?" asked Jellal.

"More than I thought possible in that short amount of time." said Cobra still shell shocked and it has been more than two hours since he heard it.

"Come on you have to tell us Cobra." said Meredy.

"I think I might have heard all of the screams from every person he's killed since he's escaped from Rising Tide." said Cobra.

"Dam that can't be pleasant." stated Racer.

"That wasn't the bad part, I somehow heard who knows how long of his time being tortured at Rising Tide. But it was bad much worse than any of us could have imagined and I think I know how he has death magic and is already good with it." mumbled Cobra.

"How did he do it Cobra?" asked Angel who was pissed that he killed her little angels.

"They put a death dragon lacrima into him, it should have killed him right away but somehow it didn't." said Cobra as he started to clench his head in pain.

"What's wrong Cobra?" asked Meredy as she saw him in visible discomfort.

"Too much information, having a hard time dealing with it." responded Cobra.

"Shit, what are we going to do with him?" asked Midnight.

"I think that we'll stay here another night and head out tomorrow, hopefully Cobra is fine by then." answered Jellal.

"He can access dragon force whenever he wants." shouted Cobra as he then clenched his head harder and laid down on the floor. Jellal realized now why he thought that it was somewhat familiar to him when Salamander was unleashing his magic, but he was now officially afraid of what Salamander was going to do with that kind of power. He could literally destroy towns with easy if he chose too.

"What's dragon force?" asked Angel.

"It's the state that some dragon slayers can get to which puts them at the same level as an actual dragon. It is also how Natsu beat me the first time that we met." explained Jellal.

"So what are we going to do now, especially since Salamander is going to be one step ahead of us? Leaving destroyed guilds in his wake." asked Midnight.

"We need to head to Fairy Tail and tell them what happened." said Jellal.

"Are you sure that's smart Jellal?" asked Meredy.

"No but they should know what we figured out today and possibly anything else that Cobra finds out." stated Jellal as he sat down and leaned up against the wall.

"How come any time I meet a Fairy Tail mage everything seems to go wrong?" asked Midnight which no one answered and all just smiled and thought back to when Fairy Tail kept stopping them from doing something really terrible.

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And things are going to pick up in the next chapter or at least that is what I am planning on doing. So as always feel free to leave me a review and I will try to get back to you if I can.**

 **Until the next Chapter**

 **Digem Out!**


	7. The Hunt is On

Chapter 7: The Hunt is On

 **The next day at Fairy Tail:**

"So how did it go with Gildarts Cana?" asked Master Makarov with a frown.

"As it was expected Master, he found a bar and drank until he passed out." replied Cana with a frown as well.

"At least he didn't do anything stupid." stated Makarov.

"There is still time for that Master." replied Cana with a small grin.

"So where is he?" asked Makarov.

"Up in the infirmary, I got the help of two nice gentlemen last night and they carried him here for me." said Cana still having that small grin.

"But how did you get in Cana, I locked the doors?" asked Makarov.

"Master are you actually forgetting about that?" asked Cana as she pointed to the nonexistent wall.

"HEHEHEHE I did indeed forget about that Cana." replied Master Makarov with a sheepish grin on his face.

"So what did I miss after I left yesterday?" asked Cana.

"Nothing too exciting, some are going to try and find the identity of Subject 8 by calling the other guilds, while others are going to go out there and try to track Natsu down with the help of the dragon slayers. Most of the groups have already left and seemed really determined to bring Natsu back." answered Master Makarov with a proud smile that was smaller than normal. Makarov had actually never smiled like he used to since he figured out what actually happened to Natsu and only a few people had noticed this little fact.

"So pretty much back to what everyone was doing before, well I might as well give tracking him another try." said Cana as she went to a table to get to work.

"Master I just finished talking with Sting and they haven't had a member gone from their guild for more than a month." said Mira with a smile, glad that one of their members wasn't Subject 8.

"That's good news Mira." replied Master Makarov.

"Mira's forgetting to tell you that we've already called every guild except for Mermaid Heel, Lamia Scale, and Blue Pegasus." stated Lucy with a slight smile since that they've eliminated quite a few guilds so far.

"Well we didn't actually think it was going to be any of those since Natsu never really got to know them like he did with the guilds that we have left and Sabretooth. But you also forgot about Crime Sorciere Lucy." said Levy with a small smile because she was also happy that they haven't had to tell anyone the bad news yet, but she knew that it was only a matter of time.

"I still don't think it was them Levy, because they would have come to us for help if Angel or Meredy went missing." explained Lucy.

"Very good point Lucy." stated Erza as she walked up to their small group.

"You're still here Erza, I thought that you would have been one of the first ones to head out on the hunt for Natsu?" asked Lucy.

"Oh I will be Lucy, my group decided that we were going to wait for the next news about Natsu and then go from there." answered Erza with a slight frown.

"Well I guess that would mean that you are waiting for us then." stated a man completely covered by a cloak who had six people behind him covered the same way.

"Jellal is that you?" asked Erza who was completely surprised that he just randomly showed up.

"Yes it is and I really wish that I could be visiting here for happier reasons, but unfortunately for us I am not. Yesterday we had a run in with Natsu and it wasn't that pretty, but we do have a very good idea where he might be heading." replied Jellal with a frown.

"Jellal it was not that bad, Natsu didn't kill or take away any of our magic." said Meredy in an angry tone.

"You two are forgetting that we aren't supposed to call him by that anymore, he's the Salamander now." said Racer as he rubbed his still hurting neck.

"Mira could you please call back all of the search parties?" asked Master Makarov.

"Already done Master and they all should be here in less than an hour." answered Mira with a small smile since they now seemed to have a lead on Natsu.

"Wait why are you saying that Natsu doesn't want to be called by his name anymore?" asked Lucy.

"Because Salamander almost killed Jellal when he kept calling him Natsu." answered Midnight with a terrified expression on his face.

"Oh my god it worked!" shouted Cana from her table.

"What worked?" asked Jellal but was completely ignored by all of Fairy Tail.

"Cana you've actually got his current location?" asked Master Makarov.

"Yep and he is definitely heading for either Crocus or the Council's headquarters, it's too hard to tell right now with how far away from them he is. But Natsu is moving extremely fast for someone who isn't using transportation." replied Cana.

"Well Salamander doesn't need to sleep or eat and who knows if he can even get physically tired anymore." grumbled Gildarts as he came out of the infirmary looking like he had a really long night.

"Wait, are you saying that Natsu no longer needs to eat and sleep?" asked Jellal with pure shock.

"That I am blue haired guy, but like I was saying we don't know what his physical strength is after those bastards gave him all of those weird potions." growled Gildarts as he opened a bottle and started to drink from it while none of them even dared to try and stop him.

"That means that Salamander is even stronger than we thought and we already thought that he was a powerhouse." said Angel as she shook her head.

"So what happened when you met with Natsu and how do you know where he's probably heading?" asked Erza but before Jellal could answer he was cut off by Makarov.

"Jellal if you could wait until everyone else got here that would be very appreciated since I know that they would like to hear all of this as well?" asked Master Makarov.

"I can definitely do that Master Makarov." replied Jellal with a smile.

"Well that means we can go back and figure out who Subject 8 is." stated Levy as she was getting ready to call one of the remaining guilds. But she was stopped by Cobra, who all of a sudden started letting out a scream while clutching his head.

"What the hell just happened to him?" asked Cana who knew that this was not normal for Cobra.

"Well you see when we ran into Salamander Cobra decided to try and read his thoughts when he didn't have his guard up. And let's just say that Cobra got way more than he ever wanted and now is suffering from that right now and we just have to give him a few minutes to tell us what's going on." explained Midnight with a concerned look on his face that Fairy Tail was surprised to see.

"Why are most of you guys referring to Natsu as Salamander?" asked Erza as they waited for Cobra to tell them what's going on.

"You would too Erza if you saw what he's capable of doing now." said Angel as she shivered just at the memory.

"Salamander made it perfectly clear that he doesn't want to be called by Natsu anymore because that form of him died at Rising Tide. And we weren't joking when we said that Salamander almost killed Jellal over it." stated Hoteye with a big frown.

"Natsu would never do that to one of his friends." refuted Erza.

"Well he did Erza, granted I had been getting on his nerves and wasn't giving him what he wanted but he wasn't messing around Erza." said Jellal as he looked away from Erza.

"You both are forgetting the bigger thing that happened; Natsu didn't kill any of us when we are still considered dark mages. Meaning that he easily could have killed us without anyone but Fairy Tail getting upset with him, so I know that the old Natsu is still in there even if he won't admit to it himself." shouted Meredy so that everyone would hear her.

"Very good point Meredy." said Master Makarov with a small grin.

"Just because Salamander didn't kill you all doesn't mean that Natsu is still in there." said Gildarts with a big grin.

"Dad can you please just keep quite?" asked Cana with a glare.

"Sorry honey but I can't do that. I just want make sure that no one here gets their hopes higher than they should when we have no right to since we all left him there at Rising Tide." said Gildarts while taking another swig from his bottle.

"That wasn't our fault Gildarts, we were still looking for him." said Erza while glaring at the man.

"Wasn't our fault Erza, how is it not our fault when we only looked for him half assed? We all know that Natsu would have literally looked for any of us until he either found us or died trying, but we didn't even do a tenth of what he would have done by himself." replied Gildarts taking a big drink from his bottle, while the rest of Fairy Tail hung their heads in shame.

"I was actually thinking of something else last night while I was trying to drink myself to death. I can almost guarantee you that Natsu actually hates all of us right now and in my opinion he should because just as I said before. We did jack shit for him when he needed us to save him like he's done countless times for this guild, but no we were all happily going about our own business as if everything was normal. And because of that he had to watch subject 8 die right in front of him, which as you guys like to say, is the reason that he's the Salamander. But I think that you are all wrong about that, Natsu is now the Salamander because he now knows that he is completely on his own because he sure as hell can't count for us to ever save him." ranted Gildarts wanting to get everything that he thought about off his chest from last night. All of Fairy Tail that was present felt like shit after hearing what Gildarts said and couldn't help but think that he was actually right and it was their fault that Natsu was now the Salamander.

"Gildarts, you know that Natsu would be the very first person to tell us that it wasn't our fault." stated Makarov.

"Yes I do Master, Natsu was the best of us here at Fairy Tail in every way and look at what that got him. Four years of torture while we did what we always do, oh and if you haven't heard Natsu is gone and all we have now is the Salamander." said Gildarts as he polished off his bottle only to grab another one.

"Dad you've had enough and that is coming from me." said Cana with a big frown.

"Didn't you hear me Cana; I am trying to kill myself by drinking myself stupid. But somehow all it's doing is making me see things clearly and how terrible of a guild we actually are when we just gave up on trying to find one of our members who just randomly disappeared." said Gildarts as he took the cork out of the bottle and started to drink, leaving everyone else speechless after hearing everything that he said and remained that way until Cobra recovered.

"Leave subject 8 alone if you know what's good for you." said Cobra with a glare directed at all of Fairy Tail.

"Why would we do that when we are so close to figuring out who she was?" asked Lucy with a glare directed right back at Cobra.

"Because I know who she is and how much Salamander cared about her, Salamander might have seemed fine to the members of Rising Tide but that was all a lie. He was extremely close to breaking but luckily for him they brought her in and it was what allowed him to keep going for the next year. Salamander's sole purpose was to get her out of that hell hole alive, but he failed at that." said Cobra with a huge frown.

"All the more reason as to why we should figure out who she is." stated Lucy still glaring at the dragon slayer.

"Fine, if you want to face the Salamander's wrath for poking your nose where it doesn't belong go right ahead, but remember that I warned you." replied Cobra as he shook his head.

"Did you learn anything else Cobra?" asked Jellal not wanting there to be any tension between the groups.

"A bit more of what he went through while there but this time it was centered on subject 8 and there conversations between each other. And also when they were torturing her just to get at Salamander which is why he has a true hatred for all dark mages, we are all lucky to still be alive." replied Cobra with a frown.

"What did they say to each other?" asked Meredy.

"A lot of things, but the one that was in Salamander's mind the most important was his promise to her and their last moments together before he actually became the Salamander that we have right now." said Cobra.

"What was his promise?" asked Lucy who had a good idea of what it was since Natsu was the one to make it.

"One that Natsu has made countless of times and has always succeeded with doing and that was simply getting her out of there alive. But as you already know he failed and that is when he activated dragon force, and broke out and went on a rampage." said Cobra as he took a seat since he was tired of standing.

"Natsu can activate dragon force now?" asked Erza and a few people from the search parties that just returned.

"Yes he can and since it looks like everyone is now here I will tell you all, everything that happened yesterday." said Jellal. After an hour he finished telling them everything that happened with the help of his fellow members.

"Shit I was really hoping that it wasn't an actual death dragon's lacrima." mumbled Gajeel with an angry expression.

"It looks like Rising Tide was correct on him being able to use all forms of slayer magic that he absorbs." said Levy with a frown.

"So how in the world do you guys know so much about what happened to him?" asked Jellal.

"That would be because we have copies of all the evidence that the Council has on Rising Tide, if you want you can look through it." said Master Makarov.

"I think I will take up your offer on that Master Makarov but after we deal with the biggest issue here. And that is all the info that I gave Salamander and what he's going to do with it." said Jellal.

"What issue Mr. Jellal who should count his blessings that he's still alive after meeting the Salamander when he's a dark mage. Natsu is going to hunt down every dark mage you have info on and then kill them, not really a problem if you ask me." said Gildarts with a huge grin on his drunk face.

"How are you fine with that? There are better ways of dealing with dark mages and Natsu was the one that taught my whole guild that." asked Jellal in disbelief that Gildarts seemed completely fine with people dying.

"Because look where that got him Jellal, four fucking years of torture that absolutely no one should be put through. Maybe if he would have started this sooner those goddam Rising Tide mages wouldn't have messed with him and made him into the perfect killing machine who god only knows how many types of slaying magic he has under his belt now." replied Gildarts still having a drunken grin spread across his face.

"Dad you don't believe that." stated Cana with a big frown.

"Sorry Cana but I definitely do now after hearing all that Natsu had to go through. Those fuckers at Rising Tide didn't even have the decency to kill him, they just kept on torturing him until he completely gave up on what used to make him Natsu." said Gildarts losing his smile that turned into a frown, as all there were shocked to hear that Gildarts said that it would have been better if Natsu had died.

"You don't mean that Gildarts." stated Mira who was about to cry.

"Yes I do Mira, just look at what's happened to Fairy Tail because of what happened to Natsu. I am confident that Natsu would have probably have preferred to die if he knew how much it would hurt for us to see what he's become. The Salamander is nothing like Natsu because he's completely driven by revenge while Natsu would have never done that he was far too forgiving and kind. I also just thought of something, how in the world did Natsu of all people ever get captured?" asked Gildarts as he looked at everyone else in the guild who all had no idea how it happened.

"AHAHAHAH oh that is so rich we still don't even know how one of our strongest members was captured. Well I can tell you exactly why it happened with one hundred percent certainty." said Gildarts who was clearly not handling any of this well.

"And how would you know that Gildarts?" asked Master Makarov with a frown.

"Because of who Natsu was Master, so it is actually pretty obvious how someone would go about capturing one of our best fighters. All they needed to do was threaten the life of a few innocent civilians, maybe have one there with them to show that they were serious and Natsu would willingly surrender himself to them as long as the civilians were let go. Natsu also probably thought that he wouldn't have to wait long for us to come to his rescue but boy was he wrong on that one, so once again he got completely screwed because of caring too much." explained Gildarts who started to chuckle at the end sounding now completely broken as Cana hugged him trying to get him to calm down.

"Shit that is definitely the only way Salamander would have disappeared without making a huge scene." stated Gajeel who felt like a complete idiot for not seeing it sooner.

"How could none of us think of that?" asked Levy thinking along the same lines of Gajeel.

"Because we were all thinking about the future and what we could do to help Natsu." said Master Makarov.

"Well if that is the case then we need to hurry up and figure out something soon because I have a feeling that Salamander is going to be attacking the Council next." stated Jellal with a frown.

"Why would he do a thing like that?" asked Grey.

"Because I have suspected that one of them is a dark mage, like I was when I was a part of the Council. But I haven't been able to prove anything yet; I did notice Salamander's grin grew bigger when I started to write that stuff down. So I was thinking that he already had his suspicions about them and I only helped confirm something for him." explained Jellal.

"But if you don't have any proof then Natsu won't do anything to the dark mage, since that is what he's been doing for all of the Council employees so far." stated Lucy.

"That's true but we really don't know if that is ever going to change. If it does stay the same I am going to assume that we have less than three days to figure out what he's going to do and stop him." replied Jellal.

"I say we let him do it." said Laxus with a completely serious face.

"You can't be serious Laxus, we just learned that Natsu is going to kill a member of the actual Council and you're fine with it?" asked Erza.

"That I am Erza, because most of the things Gildarts said were true and besides he's only going to be killing a dark mage that has been probably helping so many other dark mages get away with their crimes." answered Laxus with a slight grin.

"There is no way that the Council will allow something like that to happen and not punish Natsu." said Erza.

"They actually won't be able to do anything since they are completely supporting Natsu and his crusade to rid Fiore of all dark mages. This would include him getting rid of dark mages that have gotten all the way to the top of their organization, and from what I have seen so far. Natsu has been using his brain a lot more than he used to which is really sad since it is completely focused on killing, but hey at least he's only killing dark mages." explained Laxus still grinning.

"Well I for one am not going to let him do that." stated Erza as a few others nodded at her statement.

"You're free to try and stop him but I really don't think you'll like what happens when you do that. I for one am just going to let Natsu keep doing what he's doing, but I will try to talk with him and bring him back to Fairy Tail." replied Laxus as a few others agreed with him while most decided that they would just stay out of this.

"Nothing bad is going to happen Laxus if we stop Natsu, it's probably what he's waiting for us to do." stated Erza.

"I really doubt that Titania and I would advise you to never get in between a dragon and its prey. It never goes well for whatever got in the way, and like Gildarts said earlier we still don't know how many different types of slayer magic Salamander has now so he's going to be hard to stop." stated Gajeel who agreed with Laxus on just letting Natsu do what he wants while just trying to bring him back and nothing more.

"Natsu did say that he had loads of secrets that he's yet to show the world." said Meredy.

"Not to mention that he might have four more dragon lacrimas that he's done who knows what with." said Levy as she recalled seeing a photo of a stand that held five of them but they were all missing.

"Shit I completely forgot about those." said Grey who you could tell was not happy with this situation at all.

"Enough everybody since it looks like we are not completely of one mind on this; I will decide what we're going to do. And for this I think that it is our duty to prevent him from killing a Council member so let's start coming up with a plan on how to stop Natsu and bring him back to us." declared Master Makarov.

"Gramps I think that you are making a big mistake here, what if he kills one of us because we got in his way?" asked Laxus.

"Natsu would never do that, and I can't believe that you would think that he would do such thing." said Erza with a glare.

"You all keep forgetting that we are not dealing with Natsu here, we're dealing with the Salamander and he doesn't mess around." stated Laxus.

"But he wouldn't go that far Laxus, I mean he didn't kill any of Crime Sorciere and they are still dark mages." pointed out Grey.

"True Stripper but what's to stop Salamander from taking away your magic so you can never get in his way again." pointed out Gajeel with a frown.

"I believe that there is still enough of Natsu in there that he wouldn't do that to any of his family and friends." said Master Makarov.

"You're all idiots for trying to stop him and this will be your second biggest mistake as Master of Fairy Tail, Makarov, and I will have absolutely nothing to do with this." said Gildarts as he got up and walked straight through a wall that crumbled from his magic and continued on.

"I have to agree with Gildarts on this one." said Laxus with a frown.

"If that is how you feel then you are free to leave Laxus and so is anyone else who's uncomfortable with doing this." said Master Makarov and watched as a lot of members leave. But surprisingly most of the people that were completely against it were still there.

"Don't get our intentions wrong here Gramps, we're only here so that once you guys mess up we can make sure that we don't lose more members to Rising Tide then we already have. So we'll be your support but we are not going to help at all with whatever you come up with to try and stop the Salamander." stated Laxus as his group of members nodded their heads in agreement, which consisted of Wendy, Mira, Gajeel, Levy, Lucy, the Exceeds, and the Thunder God Tribe of course.

"I am fine with that but hopefully we won't need you then." stated Master Makarov with a frown.

"I hope that you are right Gramps for everyone's sake." said Laxus as they then started to work on their plan on preventing Natsu from killing a Council member with the help of Crime Sorciere.

 **Two days later at the Council's Headquarters:**

"You would think that after what I did last time that they would be prepared for something like this again." said a figure in the shadows with a devious smirk.

"But I guess I shouldn't complain since it's going to be just as much fun for me this time." said the figure as he made his way towards the main building going unseen by all of the people there.

 **Inside of the Council Chamber:**

"Well it looks like we've discussed everything that we had planned to cover for today without Councilman Fujimoto demanding the death of the Salamander." stated the Chairman with a grin.

"That is because I realized that I was wrong on that Chairman." replied Fujimoto with a grin.

"Oh I am really surprised to hear that from you Councilman Fujimoto, you usually stick to your opinions no matter what anyone else says." stated the Chairman with a suspicious look.

"I have decided that I should be a little more open." said Fujimoto still grinning when they heard loud explosions going off all throughout the building.

"What in the world is going on?" asked a Councilwoman with slight fear in her eyes.

"I have no idea, but don't fear, this room is protected with the best wards that we have." stated the Chairman as he looked at the only doors into the room. They all saw seals start forming on the walls and doors and instantly felt relief that all of the wards were activated, but it quickly turned to dread as they all shattered meaning that the room was just like any other room.

The explosions were still going off all throughout the building causing the whole thing to shake and feel like it could come down any second. And just as they were about to leave the door exploded leaving nothing but a hole in the wall where it once stood.

"Man does this bring back fond memories of the last time I came here." said a figure standing in the smoke caused by the explosion.

"Who's there?" asked the Chairman but rather than the figure answering a huge explosion went off in between all of the Council members, sending them all across the room in every direction.

"Can't you idiots tell by my attacks, I mean they were the ones that destroyed the previous Council." said Jackal as he emerged from the smoke.

"How are you here, I thought Fairy Tail wiped all of Tartaros out?" asked the Chairman who was the only one not scared shitless right now.

"Oh they did but that guild didn't kill all of us and thanks to that we are a newer and better than the old Tartaros." said Jackal with a huge grin as he caused another round of explosions to go off and hit each of the Council members.

"Why are you doing this Jackal?" asked Fujimoto as he tried to get up.

"Because it's fun to watch you humans, always think that you know what's going on. And always trying to get the upper hand by betraying your own kind, it's better than any movie that I've ever seen." replied Jackal still grinning at all of them.

"No Jackal, I am asking why you're doing this to me?" asked Fujimoto in between coughs.

"Like I said before it's fun and I always was going to do this to you." replied Jackal as a face of realization came over Fujimoto that then turned to one of anger.

"What are you talking about Councilman Fujimoto?" asked the Chairman who didn't actually look like he was in too bad of shape compared to Fujimoto and a few of the other Council members.

"Come on Chairman I am pretty sure that you can figure it out and if you can't I'll give you five minutes to come up with an answer while I deal with this scum once and for all." said a man in a black clock that appeared in between Jackal and the Council members.

"You actually think that you can actually defeat me?" asked Jackal with a bigger grin before.

"Why couldn't I Jackal, I have already done that before when I was way weaker." said the man who then appeared in front of Jackal and started to punch at him for a good minute and then pulled back.

"You are just as stupid as every other human that I have come across, now prepare to die!" shouted Jackal as his curse came into effect and there was an explosion but it was nowhere as big as Jackal expected. When the smoke cleared the cloaked figure was standing there as if nothing happened to him and continued to stare at Jackal with his now red eyes.

"How is that possible, you shouldn't be alive right now, the only person who ever survived that was…" said Jackal as his expression turned to one of complete horror.

"Looks like you remembered me Jackal, and as you just saw I don't even have to eat your explosions anymore. And after letting that attack hit me you are never going to have a single curse take effect on me ever again, if you don't believe me I'll let you hit me as much as you want." said the figure with a big grin.

"You're so going to regret that Natsu!" shouted Jackal as he launched himself at Natsu and started to punch him over and over again.

"Did he just call that stranger Natsu?" asked a Councilman.

"He definitely did, but the only Natsu that I know is the Salamander." stated a different Councilman who was dusting himself off and then started to work on protective wards for himself and a few of the other members that he liked.

"The Salamander is here, but why on earth would he be here now?" asked a Councilwoman who was also getting ready to fight if needed.

"Isn't it obvious, he's working with Tartaros now." answered Councilman Fujimoto.

"Which is why they are battling each other, sorry but that is one of the dumbest things you have ever said Fujimoto." said a different Councilman than the previous two, just as Jackal stopped his assault and jumped back waiting for an explosion that never came.

"How is that even possible Natsu, you should have been affected by my curse?" shouted Jackal.

"Simple Jackal I am now stronger than you'll ever be, since your existence will be wiped for the face of the world shortly. But I think I am going to have to hear about this new Tartaros that you were talking to the Council about as I arrived." said Salamander with a big grin.

"You mean you didn't even know that I was going to be here?" asked Jackal in complete disbelief.

"Nope, it was just a coincidence that saved all the lives of the Council except for one that is." replied Salamander with a bigger grin than before.

"Well it looks like I shouldn't screw around since you seem to be serious Natsu." said Jackal as he entered his Etherious Form.

"I was hoping that you had a new trick Jackal this is going to be really boring." said the Salamander as he let out a long sigh.

"We'll see about that Natsu!" shouted Jackal as he appeared next to Salamander and threw a punch at him, but was stopped by one hand from the Salamander whose grin turned into one of a crazy man.

"Haven't you heard the news Jackal, Natsu Dragneel died thanks to a dark guild and all that remains is the Salamander. And now you are going to see why you are nothing compared to the might of a dragon." said Salamander as he unleashed his magic causing everyone in his general vicinity to fall to their knees.

"But how do you have so much power?" asked Jackal while on his knees trying to overcome the raw power right before him.

"I would tell you Jackal but that would be pointless since you are never going to hurt another soul." replied Salamander as Jackal's right arm started to shrivel up as Salamander let go of it.

"What's happening to my arm?" asked Jackal as he looked at it as it kept getting smaller and smaller.

"Oh that is just one of my new magic types, so how does it feel Jackal to know that you are going to die soon?" asked Salamander as he slowly walked towards Jackal.

"That's not going to happen Natsu!" shouted Jackal as he took off and ran, but before he was even ten meters away his face came into contact with a fist covered in black and red flames that were enhanced by something else making them stronger. While at the same time being shocked by black lightning that was going all over Salamander as he punched Jackal back down to the ground.

"Tsk tsk, Jackal did you really think that I would let you get away that easy? Oh and look your arm is now completely gone, so let's get started with another one but this time I think I want to burn it off. That is unless you want to give me all of the information that you have on your guild, if you do that then I will give you a peaceful death which is way more than you deserve." said Salamander as he landed in front of Jackal who was freaking out that his right arm was completely gone.

"How did he do that?" asked a Councilwoman.

"Which part?" asked back a Councilman.

"Any of it." said the Councilwoman.

"No idea at all." replied the Councilman

"Come on Jackal I don't have all day here." stated Salamander as he coated himself in fire and lightning with wind circling around him that was slightly black like the lightning and some of the flames. But there was also a hint of maroon gas whipping around with it.

"Like I would ever be afraid of someone like you Natsu!" shouted Jackal as he got up but was instantly brought back down as he let out a scream of pain. Standing with his foot smashing Jackal's face into the floor was the Salamander with a smirk on his face.

"I was really hoping that you would fight me since I really have been finding it really boring when I take someone's arm and they instantly give up hope. I mean where the hell is their will to survive, you could totally live a happy life with just one arm, actually you won't be able to Jackal because your time is done." said Natsu as he then sent a stream of red and black fire straight at Jackal's left leg and started to burn it. This caused Jackal to scream out in pain with his face still smashed into floor as his leg was getting reduced to nothing but ash.

"So Jackal are you going to be a good little dog and tell your new Master what he wants or is he going to have to punish you again?" asked Salamander with a huge disturbing smile spread across his lips.

"Go to hell." replied Jackal who once again started to scream because of the immense pain that Natsu was causing him. But this time it was black lightning with the addition of the maroon mist going all over Jackal's body that was still underneath Salamander.

"I have already been there Jackal, which is why I am giving you a one way ticket there. So tell me about your guild Jackal, oh and you now have poison going all throughout your body. I am still not that good with that one since it's fairly new to me, which is why I decided to fry all of your nerves throughout the rest of your body so you can't move for a while." said Salamander with a proud smile on his face.

"HAHAHAHAHA you really are stupid Natsu now get ready to watch everyone in a two mile radius die because this time you don't have that cat to save you." replied Jackal as he started to glow while laughing like a madman.

"Oh you are going to do that self-destruct thing again. Dammit I was hoping that you would actually talk to me Jackal but whatever, just knowing that you guys exist is enough for me to hunt the rest of your members down and finish them off for good." said Salamander as he picked up Jackal by his neck and held him in the air.

"HAHAHAHA they are just going to put me back together like they did last time Natsu, and then we'll be ready for our next meeting." laughed Jackal as he got brighter.

"It seems like you don't understand Jackal, when I kill something that thing doesn't ever come back since there is nothing left of them." said Salamander as he released some of his magic causing Jackal to slowly stop glowing.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Jackal as he started to freak out.

"Like I told you earlier Jackal, I am killing you in a way that you will never come back to this world. So if hell really exists I will be sending all of your friends to stay with you." said Salamander as Jackal started to look like he was shriveling up.

"You don't mean that you're actually…" said Jackal who was really scared now.

"Oh yes I do Jackal and it is all thanks to your friend over there, the one that you were obviously going to kill after he took down the wards guarding their meeting." said Salamander with a devious grin.

"You fucking idiot Fujimoto, I thought that we had a deal!" shouted Jackal causing all of the Council members to stare at Fujimoto.

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Fujimoto as he started to look nervous.

"Why the fuck would you ask Tartaros to kill the council if you had a monster like this in your back pocket?" shouted Jackal as he was back to his normal form.

"Oh Jackal I am not actually in his back pocket, Fujimoto has been trying to get the Council to kill me after I escaped from Rising Tide since he knew all about what they've been doing for the last few years. He was actually once a member of that guild and because of that he was afraid that I would figure out what he truly is." said Salamander with a huge grin.

"What, that he's a dark mage?" asked Jackal who felt like his insides were burning but still couldn't move since Salamander paralyzed him.

"Bingo Jackal, but like I said before it's all thanks to Fujimoto that you are going to die so is there anything else that I should know about Fujimoto? That might be evidence of him being a dark mage, I already have enough to prove it but it never hurts to have extra." said Salamander with a big grin.

"Check my right pocket and in there is the contract that he signed to have Tartaros kill the whole Council except for him." said Jackal with a big grin as he watched Fujimoto's eyes widen in horror at hearing what the two of them were talking about.

"Thanks Jackal, I think that was probably the only good thing that you have ever done in your life." said Salamander as he pulled the contract out of Jackal's pocket and then throwing him into the middle of the Council members.

"Does that mean you aren't going to kill me Natsu?" asked Jackal with a little bit of hope.

"AHAHAHAH oh my god Jackal, did you really think that I wasn't going to kill you if you only gave me something that I didn't even need since I already have enough proof of Fujimoto being a dark mage? Don't answer that Jackal, oh and you forgot that I am not Natsu anymore." said the Salamander as he snapped his fingers and all of the Council watched as Jackal let out another scream and then watched as he looked like he might have been burnt from the inside out and then turned into ash.

"Natsu!" shouted a group of people that showed up just in time to see him turn Jackal to nothing but ashes.

"Why hello Fairy Tail, did you come here to watch me kill Fujimoto?" asked Salamander as he looked over his shoulder at them. All of the Fairy Tail mages were caught off guard by his red eyes and the evil grin that was spread across Natsu's face that was still hidden by his hood.

"You hear that Chairman, he's going to try and kill me!" shouted Fujimoto.

"Yes I did Fujimoto, and if what Jackal and Salamander were saying earlier is true I am actually going to enjoy watching this." replied the Chairman shocking all of Fairy Tail and most of the Council.

"I think that I might actually like you Chairman as long as you stay out of my way." said Salamander as he tossed the contract and a few other things like notes and pictures that he pulled out of one of his pouches on his belt. The Chairman instantly started to read them and once he was done reading them he passed them onto the next Council member. While this was happening Fairy Tail was having a few words with the Salamander.

"Natsu you don't need to do this." stated Erza.

"Oh but I do, it was all because of Fujimoto that I went through all of that for four years!" shouted Salamander as his magic flared up.

"Natsu you need to calm down we're your family and are here to help you." said Makarov.

"I don't need anyone's help and my name isn't Natsu, it's Salamander!" shouted the Salamander as his magic spiked higher just from being around Fairy Tail mages.

"You're always going to be Natsu to all of us and you know that what you're doing is wrong Natsu." stated Makarov with a gentle smile.

"Shut up you have no idea what I went through because of that man, but I did learn a lesson. And it was what Igneel taught me when I was really young and never really wanted to believe was true, and that was this world is a kill or be killed world. So what I have been doing recently is the law of this world so I am not wrong." said Salamander no longer yelling but still really loud while still letting his magic out.

"Come on Flame Brain we're concerned about you and want you to come back with us. So quit being a psycho killer and come back with us to Fairy Tail." shouted Grey thinking that tough love was maybe the way to deal with Natsu right now.

"HAHAHAHA concerned about me you say, then where the hell were you when I needed you the most. More importantly where were you when she needed you to come and save her because I wasn't strong enough. I'll tell you where you all were and that was at Fairy Tail doing absolutely nothing that could have helped me or her and Fujimoto if you take one more step I will kill you even if it makes me a dark mage like you. Because I know that you are guilty of terrible acts and it will soon be made public so I really don't give a shit!" shouted Salamander ready to burn the man alive.

"Natsu we won't let you do that!" declared Erza as she switched into her purgatory armor.

"HAHAHA you won't let me that is just rich, not even with everyone here could you hope to stop me before I snap that man's neck." laughed the Salamander in a creepy manner.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that Natsu." replied Erza with a smirk.

"Oh so I see that he and his merry band of misfits decided to stop by Fairy Tail after I said hello to them. I can only assume that they are nearby not wanting to be seen with you guys since that would look bad. Even if they are here you still won't be able to stop me, especially since so many of your strong mages seem like they are only here as support." said the Salamander as he smirked at Fairy Tail. This caused a few of them to start wondering how he knew that since they were all there together and haven't told another soul about their plan.

"Even if that was true Natsu, you know that Fairy Tail always accomplishes its goal." replied Erza who was surprisingly calm.

"Unless that goal is find Natsu before he dies which you all failed at and I am starting to think that I was the only reason that Fairy Tail actually finished anything. But none of that matters since I have a feeling that the Chairman is going to actually allow me to kill that thing that isn't even worth calling a human." replied Salamander with a big grin.

"Even if he does Natsu that doesn't mean we're going to let you!" stated Makarov.

"The names Salamander and I am thinking that I might have to do something so that you will all understand that Natsu is dead. He died with her at Rising Tide when all of you were living your lives as if everything was fine while we were being tortured each day for their pleasure and nothing else!" shouted Salamander as his magic once again shot up.

"Natsu we know what you went through and want to help you, which is why we're all here." said Erza with a serious face.

"That is the last time I want to hear that name come from anyone's mouth otherwise there will be consequences. And if you fucking know what I went through then way the hell are you getting in my way, did you all become idiots while I was gone along with no longer caring about your members like family?" shouted Salamander as all of his elements that he showed earlier started to swirl around his body.

"Salamander we know that we messed up and should have looked for you harder and we are always going to regret that be sorry about it. But we are here now and just want to help you, and I know that the old you is still in there somewhere waiting for us to bring him back out. And the first step for that is to get you to stop killing people even if they are dark mages. And we still treat each other like family and will do the same to you when you come back to us." explained Master Makarov.

"Why the hell would I go back to that guild, which couldn't help me when I needed it the most. You can keep believing that the old me is still in here but that is wrong, like I have said before he died when he learned that there was no one else in the world that he could depend on after she died before him. As for not killing people, I don't think that I am right now, I am only killing other monsters out there that the only solution for them is death." said the Salamander as he glared at Fairy Tail still having all of his elements going around him.

"What kind of sick logic is that Natsu?" asked Grey who was then hit in the face by the Salamander's fist sending him through a few walls and then out of sight.

"I fucking warned you guys to not use that name around me!" shouted Salamander as his magic spiked even higher and the members of Fairy Tail had to back away from him, even Erza who was trying to attack him for what he just did but couldn't because of the magic that he was giving off.

"Oh and if you try to attack me again I will be forced to defend myself which could result in some injuries that won't heal." said Salamander as he grinned at them and then walked back towards Fujimoto who looked like he had a mental break down.

"Salamander stop, we already said that we won't let you kill that man!" shouted Erza.

"If you get in my way then I will be forced to kill you." replied Salamander with a grin.

"So you are willing to become what you despise just to kill Fujimoto? Because if you do kill any of us that is what you'll become Salamander." stated Master Makarov with a frown.

"You guys seem pretty determined to stop me, I only wished that you put this much effort into trying to find me all of those years ago. If you had then she would have still been alive, but I guess you do make a good point there. So rather than killing whoever gets in my way I'll just take away their magic, and I am sure that you've all heard about me being able to do that. Oh and if any of your friends do show up I will kill them on sight like I apparently should have done last time." replied Salamander with a big grin.

"How could you do something like that to your family Salamander?" asked Erza who couldn't believe that Natsu just threatened to kill them if they got in his way but decided to just take away their magic permanently.

"Because I am not the old me, and none of you are my family because a family would have continued to look for one of its lost members. But that isn't what you guys did, no you for some reason you all thought that I just went on a training trip without telling anyone about it!" shouted Salamander.

"We didn't stop looking for you." replied Erza with a frown.

"Oh my bad, looking around for me once a month is so helpful. I mean I really appreciated that when I was getting attacked by magical weapons so that they could learn how effective they were!" shouted Salamander.

"Salamander, you have brought us enough proof to show that Fujimoto is indeed a dark mage. Meaning that you are free to apprehend him if you should chose so, but Master Makarov is correct that you can't kill any of his mages even if they get in your way." interrupted the Chairman with a big grin.

"What about taking away their magic Chairman, will that get me labeled as a dark mage?" asked Salamander with a grin as he stared at Fujimoto like he was a nice piece of steak.

"Since the Council still doesn't know if you can even do that, we will not label you as a dark mage if you do so. And if you do indeed have that ability then we still won't classify you as a dark mage if you only do it to dark mages after today." answered the Chairman with a big grin.

"Yep, its official Chairman I think I like you. We both seem to understand that these dark mages need to be gotten rid of permanently." said Salamander with a big grin.

"Chairman you can't be serious, we both know that Salamander can actually take away the magic from a mage. You even have video proof of that with the first person that he did it to, so why are you willing to let him do that to my members?" asked an angry Master Makarov.

"Because we still don't know how he does it Master Makarov and besides he was your member at one point. And if you really don't want any of your members no longer being mages than just sit back and let the Salamander do what he does best." replied the Chairman with a very happy smile on his face.

"Chairman you can't let that monster get to me, I have valuable information on dark guilds which I will give you if you save me from that thing." begged Fujimoto.

"Sorry Fujimoto, but from what I just read and heard you are actually responsible for that thing. Also Salamander just saved all of the lives of the Council from your attempt at getting rid of us, so as a thank you we're going to let him have fun with you Fujimoto. And I believe that he will be able to get all of that information from you while also making quite the show of it." replied the Chairman who was a little upset that Fujimoto tried to get him killed.

"Oh I will Chairman because I picked up a few things while I was at Rising Tide. Oh and Fujimoto the things that they did there are going to look like child's play with what I am going to do with you." said Salamander with a huge smile on his face.

"Salamander we already told you that we aren't going to let you kill him!" shouted Erza with a glare directed at the Salamander.

"I am thinking that I might have to tell the Chairman here about who's hiding in the shadows around this place if you don't stop trying to get in my way of killing that thing." said Salamander with a growl.

"And they will be ready for something like that." replied Erza.

"But will they be ready for when I hunt them down and before I finish each of them off I will tell them that it's because of you guys not letting me kill Fujimoto. When it is what he deserves, actually I am wrong he deserves to be tortured for a few years but I simply don't have the time for that when there are so many dark guilds to still destroy." said Salamander.

"We are still going to stop you Salamander." replied Erza with a grin.

"Well it looks like I might have fallen into one of your traps if I had to judge from your facial expression. So this is my last warning Fairy Tail, get out of my way otherwise feel my wrath and that goes for the whole guild." said Natsu with a big grin.

"Even the people that are only here to support us?" asked Makarov.

"If they are at all helping you guys stopping me from getting to Fujimoto then they will be seen as my enemy." said Natsu as he walked forward and ran into a barrier.

"Looks like Freed or Levy are going to be losing their magic soon if I am not let out of here." stated Natsu with a grin.

"Why them, and there is no way that you can get out of there Natsu?" asked Erza whose mouth dropped open as Natsu shattered the barrier and glared at her.

"Because they are the only ones that could even come close to making a barrier that might hold me, so if they want to keep their magic they are going to deactivate all of the other barriers around me. And since I am really excited to kill Fujimoto, I am going to let you get away with calling me that name for the absolute last time." said Salamander as he glared at all of Fairy Tail.

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I am always glad to hear what you thought about it so feel free to leave me a review.**

 **Until the next Chapter**

 **Digem Out!**


	8. The Confrontation

Ch 8: The Confrontation

"That's more like it, but why are there still some barriers remaining?" asked Natsu as he glared at Freed and Levy.

"It's not us Salamander, we didn't want to do any of this in the first place." stuttered Freed who only did it because Laxus said that it was okay.

"Glad to hear Freed, but that only leaves little Levy which is quite the shame since I really did like her." said Salamander with a frown being visible.

"Settle down Salamander she never placed any in the first place." said Gajeel as he got in front of Levy who was completely terrified by what Natsu just said.

"It's good to see that you are willing to protect your mate Gajeel, I just wish that I was able to do that but once again I have those that I care about leave me to only suffer in this cruel world all alone." said Salamander with his head down.

"Of course I would Salamander, so don't you even touch her with any ill intent or you'll have to deal with me." stated Gajeel who was still protectively standing in front of Levy.

"If that does happen in the future Gajeel I will make sure that I kill you first so you don't have to suffer the worst pain imaginable for a dragon slayer, it's the least I could do for an old friend." stated Salamander completely shocking Fairy Tail that Natsu thought of that as a favor.

"Thanks Salamander, but I don't intend for you to every have to do that mercy for me." replied Gajeel shocking Fairy Tail even more that Gajeel was apparently of the same mind as Natsu on this.

"So if it wasn't Levy then who the hell was it, or do I have to start taking away magic from Fairy Tail at random?" asked Natsu as he glared at the whole group.

"That would be me Salamander, so don't blame anyone from Fairy Tail." said Jellal as he appeared in a bright light.

"I am surprised that you have the balls to show yourself after I told Erza here that I would kill anyone that I saw from your guild since they are all still classified as dark mages?" asked Salamander with a smirk.

"I was going to use a thought projection, but I knew that wouldn't fool you and might only make you angrier." relied Jellal who didn't look frightened at all while he was staring down the Salamander.

"That was a smart thing that you didn't do that Jellal, now do the next smart thing in your pitiful life and take down the rest of your barriers right now." said Salamander with a deep growl.

"I can't do that Salamander because you'll kill Fujimoto the second I do." stated Jellal.

"HAHAHA you're right about that Jellal which I guess means I could easily destroy it or kill you which would also get rid of it." said Salamander as a creepy grin spread across his face. For him to disappear and reappear in front of Fujimoto reaching out to get him but was stopped by a barrier, so Salamander coated his hand in who knows how many elements and punched the barrier and was surprised to see it not shatter.

"You won't be able to break through that barrier Salamander without wasting tons of magic that you don't have." stated Jellal with a smug grin.

"Are you sure about that Jellal, because honestly I can't even tell how much power I have now. What I do know is that it's more than any other person I've very run into, and that includes Gildarts and Makarov who are both way above you Jellal. But since it would be a waste to destroy a barrier when I can just destroy the man casting it." said Natsu as he slowly walked back to where Jellal appeared.

"I definitely won't let you do that Salamander." said Erza as she got in between the two of them.

"So you still have feelings for the man that tried to kill you and the rest of the world Erza?" asked Salamander as a creepy smile adorned his face.

"That's not why I am doing this Salamander and you know that it wasn't him who did all of that." stated Erza as she glared at Natsu.

"HAHAHA oh my god was I that stupid while I was a member of Fairy Tail? Sorry to break it to you Erza but even if he was being manipulated he was still the one doing it, and also after going through the files at all of those dark guilds I learned something very interesting about what happened to Jellal over there. And do you want to know what that is my naive little Erza?" asked Salamander still having that creepy smile in place.

"I am not little or naive Salamander, but I can tell you are going to tell me whatever you found out about what happened to Jellal. So go ahead and tell us this big news." stated Erza angrily but was fine with them talking because that meant he wasn't killing or hurting anyone.

"Did you know that it's impossible to manipulate someone into doing something that they never would have done in their life by themselves? It actually explains why the Council still arrested him all those years ago, and now that I am thinking about it I should go and pay a visit to Ultear some time since she guaranteed to still have some good intel on some dark guilds." stated Salamander shocking Erza and a few others from Fairy Tail about the two big pieces of information that Natsu just told them.

"That isn't true Salamander." denied Erza as she glared at him.

"Oh but it is my naive little Erza and guess what, Jellal knows it too which is why he's trying to make up for it. Otherwise there would be no reason for him to feel bad if he had no control, but he knows that some part of him actually wanted to do all of that." replied Salamander with a huge smirk spread on his face.

"Just shut up Salamander! Jellal tell me that what he just said isn't true?" asked Erza as she looked over her shoulder at Jellal who said nothing and only looked away from her.

"He's not even man enough to own up to the terrible things that he's done. Why would you ever love someone like him, but then again you can't chose who you love otherwise I would have chosen to never love someone so I wouldn't have to deal with their passing." said Salamander as he continued on his path towards Jellal but was stopped by an out stretched sword.

"Even if what you just said was true I will not let you touch him." said Erza with a determined look in her eyes.

"That's awful brave of you Erza, but I can tell you right now that the man you are trying to protect wouldn't do the same for you if two were in opposite positions." said Salamander as he grabbed her sword and bent it like it was nothing.

"That isn't true Salamander!" shouted Jellal as he glared at him.

"Oh but it is Jellal because the last time we met you were about to sit by and watch me take away Racer's magic. Oh and Racer if you can hear me I would suggest you never let me see your ugly mug otherwise I am going to take you magic away and then hand you over to the Council." stated Natsu with a sneer.

"Jellal isn't the man to do that Salamander despite whatever you think." declared Erza once again standing in his way.

"We'll see about that Erza because the party hasn't even started yet, and look more guests." stated Salamander as Meredy showed up and looked as if she ran from a mile away.

"What did you say about Ultear?" she asked in between gasping for air.

"That I might go and say hi to her since she lives alone and could use some company." replied Salamander while sporting his creepy smile again.

"Don't you lay a finger on her you bastard!" stated Grey as he walked back in through the whole he made when Salamander punched him for using his old name.

"It would seem that Wendy is even better than I remember, because I definitely broke your jaw with that hit." stated the Salamander happily.

"Yes she is Salamander and all she wants is for you to come back to us." stated Grey hoping that this approach might work since Natsu always had a soft spot for Wendy.

"And I would love to do that but first I have to kill Fujimoto and then kill every other dark mage in Fiore. Which if I am honest should only take maybe two more years max because I anticipate that they'll soon all be hiding like the cowards that they are." said Salamander with an expressionless face.

"Why can't you come back after you kill Fujimoto?" asked Wendy with a hopeful expression.

"Because the rest of them need to be dealt with and no offence Chairman but the Council sucks at it considering that Fujimoto was somehow able to get as high as he did." answered Salamander.

"None taken since its true." replied the Chairman who had a permanent smile on his face as he watched Fujimoto trying to get out of the barrier that was actually keeping him alive right now.

"Salamander where is Ultear?" demanded Meredy with a glare as she got as close to him as she'd dare.

"That's something that I would happily trade for Jellal taking down his barrier, because I honestly don't want to hurt anyone from Fairy Tail." replied Salamander.

"Then you don't have to Salamander, just let all of this go and come back with us." stated Grey with a warm smile.

"Well that is really up to you guys and my patience is running low so just give me what I want." said Salamander.

"Sorry Salamander but we can't do that because we already have Fujimoto in our custody and won't be letting you kill him when we can throw him into jail." said Makarov as he stood in between Grey and Erza adding another person to blocking Salamander and his target.

"Are you three the only ones that are going to try and stop me from getting to Jellal?" asked Salamander as his red eyes inspected them closely.

"No they aren't Salamander, we'll be helping them as well." said Elfman as he, Wakaba, Alzack, Droy, Max, Jet and Warren stood with the three already blocking Salamander's path.

"Well it would appear that the women of Fairy Tail are the only ones that have any common sense, excluding Erza of course. But she has always been more of a guy, but hey this might make it a little more interesting. I was honestly hoping that Gildarts would try and oppose me on this but I bet he probably is on my side of this considering that he isn't here." said the Salamander as he took a step away from them.

"Salamander please don't do this?" begged Makarov.

"You are the ones that are doing this Makarov, and every action you take in the world has their own consequences. But my question to you Makarov is, are you going to be able to live with yours if you go through with this, because I sure as hell will?" asked Salamander as he started to let out his magic that was already at the level of Gildarts but had a darker feel to it.

"We have all agreed to this and know the risks Salamander." replied Makarov.

"Well that makes me feel a little better because I was afraid that Asuka didn't know that her dad was going to end up in the hospital along with a lot of her uncles and one aunt." said Salamander with a grin that scared all of them as they watched him build up magic in between his hands.

"What did you say about my daugher?" asked Alzack with pure rage.

"Nothing expect for she's soon going to have to visit you in the hospital." replied Salamander as he discharged the magic that he built up right at the group in his way.

 **"THREE PILLAR GODS!"** shouted Makarov blocking most of the Salamander's attack.

 **"ADAMANTINE BARRIER!"** shouted Erza as she barely blocked the rest of his Attack.

"Stop this now Natsu!" shouted Makarov who couldn't believe that Natsu had just used such a strong attack on him and everyone else.

"You're the one that started this Makarov, I warned you but you didn't listen and for the last time don't call me that." said Salamander as a smirk made its way across his face as black lightning sparked around his body.

"Natsu it's not manly to kill dark mages so I am going to take you down. Full-Body Take Over: **BEAST SOUL!** " shouted Elfman as he transformed and then charged at Natsu who was just standing there with a huge smirk.

Just as Elfman was about to smash Natsu with his fist the man disappeared to only reappear right behind him with his arm pulled back ready to strike the unaware Elfman. **"LIGHTNING DRAGON GOD'S BREAKDOWN FIST!"** shouted Salamander as he landed the punch right to the back of Elfman's head sending him straight into the ground. The Salamander while still in the air charged up a roar to officially put Elfman out of the fight, **"LIGHTNING DRAGON GOD'S ROAR!"** shouted Salamander as a huge amount of black lighting shot out of his mouth and down at the unmoving Elfman. What resulted in a large explosion causing most of the people watching to not see the results of his attack.

"That was a good save Erza but I can see that your armor wasn't able to block all of it." said Salamander as he landed gracefully on the ground.

"That could have killed him Natsu!" shouted Erza who then received a flaming punch to the gut launching her back into the group of Fairy Tail Wizards.

"What part do you guys not understand about not saying that name anymore? I guess I will have to show you I am not messing around about you not calling me that name ever again." said Salamander as he bent down to pick up Elfman who was back to his normal body. But pulled back to dodge a kick coming from Jet which caused him to be hit by Alzack who was now unloading his pistols on him pushing him away from Elfman who Jet quickly took to Wendy to start getting healed.

"You've gotten faster Jet and Alzack what are you even doing here you have a family to think about?" asked Salamander with a devious grin spread across his face.

"I do Salamander and I am trying to help bring one of them back right now." said Alzack who once again opened fire on Salamander who just started to laugh as he dodged them. Salamander did this while making his way to the gun mage ready to deal out some severe punishment when he got there.

" **ICE MAKE: FLOOR!** " shouted Grey as Salamander dodged a shot by leaping into the air causing him to lose his footing when he landed and fall on his back.

 **"CHAIN PLANT!"** shouted Droy as he threw seeds at Salamander that then bound him to the ground. This small hindrance was all that everyone else needed to unleash their moves.

 **"SMOKE CRUSH!"** shouted Wakaba as he sent his smoke at Salamander that started to punch him.

 **"SAND BLAST!"** shouted Max as he sent a large amount of sand at the Salamander.

 **"BLUMENBLATT!"** shouted Erza as she launched more than fifty swords at Salamander.

 **"GUNS MAGIC: OMNIDIRECTIONAL EXPANSION!"** shouted Alzack as guns appeared around Salamander and fired away.

 **"KNUCKLE PLANT!"** shouted Droy as he threw more seeds at Salamander that grew into fists and started to hit him.

 **"ICE MAKE: HAMMER!"** shouted Grey as a huge Hammer formed above Salamander and fell on to him hoping that it would be enough to knock him out. But all of them knew that it definitely wasn't enough to actually bring him down as it then shattered to pieces.

"You need to snap out of this Natsu!" shouted Makarov who was now in his giant form and brought a huge fist down on the spot Natsu was held down at and repeated it for five more swings.

"Do you think that was enough?" asked Grey as he stared into the dust cloud that all of their attacks stirred up.

"It'd have to be Grey that was six massive blows from Master." stated Droy with a big grin that instantly turned into one of shock at what appeared behind Alzack.

"Alzack lo…" was all he could say before the mage was blasted through a wall.

"What th…" said Wakaba before being hit in the chest by a lightning and flame enhanced fist.

Max didn't even get a word out before a kick to the head sent him into the floor where he laid not making a single movement.

"Well that just leaves you Droy and then all of the weaklings that just attacked me will be down for the count." said Salamander as he cracked his knuckles.

"How did you do all of that so quickly?" asked Grey in complete disbelief that Natsu just took out three of their mages without them being able to do anything to stop it.

"What do you mean how did I do that Grey?" asked Natsu who then appeared behind Droy in a bolt of black lightning and grabbed him by the back of his neck while easily lifting him off the ground.

"This was something Laxus has been able to do for years, and don't take another step Erza unless you want Droy here to become paralyzed for the rest of his life." stated Salamander as he smiled at Erza who was charging at him but quickly stopped in her tracks.

"Salamander don't you even think about following through with that threat." bellowed Macarov still in his giant form.

"Too late for that Makarov, but I am glad that you decided to give up on calling me that terrible name." said the Salamander while still holding the completely terrified Droy by the neck like it was nothing.

"Why do you hate your old name so much?" asked Erza hoping to distract him and come up with a plan how to get Droy out of his grasp.

"Simple Erza, Natsu wasn't even able to protect the one thing that mattered to him the most Erza. He was too weak and wasn't able to do what needed to be done and because of that she died." shouted Salamander as he let more of his magic out that caused the ground beneath him to crack and anything not securely fastened down to start floating around him.

"It's not your fault that she died Salamander." said Grey who was also trying to come up with a plan.

"I know it's not my fault but that doesn't change the fact that at the time I wasn't strong enough to save her. And the person responsible for all of this is the one that you are all now trying to protect from me. Which has only gotten four members of your guild hospitalized with a few more soon following if you don't give me Fujimoto right now." said the Salamander in and eerily calm voice as his magic disappeared.

"We've already told you Salamander that we aren't going to be doing that." stated Makarov as he returned to his normal size.

"Fine Makarov, which just means more of your precious brats are going to be hospitalized." said Salamander as he tightened his grip on Droy's neck causing him to scream out in pain.

"Please let me go I promise to not get in your way again I swear." begged Droy as all of the other members of Fairy Tail watched hopelessly knowing that if they tried to do anything Salamander would go through with his threat.

"Now I would love to believe you Droy, but you should have known that getting in between a dragon and its prey would cost you. I am certain that Gajeel or Wendy warned all you of this before you decided to do this stupid endeavor." stated Salamander as he tightened his grip even more, once again eliciting screams of pain from Droy.

"Stop this right now Salamander!" shouted Makarov.

"I will if you get Jellal to get rid of that barrier he has around Fujimoto." growled Salamander as he glared at Makarov.

"Only if you agree to not kill him." stated Makarov who didn't want to see his kids fighting each other anymore when it wasn't a friendly spar. Which this was most definitely was not as he looked back at the other mages Salamander had already dealt with and could see that even Wendy was having trouble healing them back to completely normal.

"Sorry Makarov but I can't do that because I pride myself on not lying and always going through with a promise. And I just so happened to make a promise to myself that I wouldn't stop my little crusade until every single dark mage in Fiore is dead. So that means I have to kill Fujimoto today so I can move on and hunt my next prey." replied Salamander as he loosened his grip on Droy.

"Salamander please just let go of Droy, he already promised to not fight you anymore. And I will also do the same if you just let him go." said Jet who wanted to do something but knew that even with his speed he couldn't stop Salamander from hurting Droy before he got there.

"Then ask your master to comply with my demands, they aren't very hard and it'll eventually happen no matter what. Isn't that right Jellal, and why hasn't your merry band of misfits shown up yet? I really wanted to watch Racer scream in pain as I take away his speed." said Salamander while chuckling out loud at the thought.

"What the hell is wrong with you Salamander, you never would have gotten enjoyment out of someone else in pain?" asked Grey who was seething in rage at what he just heard.

"I normally don't Grey, but that smug bastard thought he could hurt me last time we met. And if we're being honest I have never liked him and should have killed him last time so Jellal here would know that I am serious about eliminating all dark mages." replied Salamander.

"You've completely lost it Salamander." stated Grey as he glared at the man he no longer knew.

"You're probably right Grey but what the fuck did you expect to happen to someone who was being tortured for four years straight? While you fucking assholes did nothing to save me from that hell hole except for look around once a month and keep an ear out for me! You know what fuck talking with you guys since you are obviously too stupid to realize that you have no chance of beating me!" shouted Salamander as then punched Droy in the head knocking him out cold and then tossing him into the air.

 **"POISON FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"** shouted Salamander as he launched his roar right at the already knocked out Dory flying through the air.

"You fucking monster!" shouted Jet who took off at Natsu to beat the shit out of him for doing that to his best friend.

"No Jet don't touch him!" shouted Jellal as he notice the huge grin that Salamander had on his face after doing that. But just like last time Jellal's warning was too late as they all watched Jet kick Salamander in the side of the head but instead of Salamander being launched it was Jet. As soon as Jet's foot made contact with Salamander large amounts of black lightning struck him and launched him into a wall where he slid down to the floor and didn't make a single movement.

"Wendy Jet needs your help right now otherwise he's going to die and I really don't want that, but he was the one to attack me." stated Salamander as everyone else was in complete shock at Salamander killing two of their mages just like that. But Jet and Droy weren't just any old mages; they were Natsu's friends that he's known his whole life which meant nothing to the Salamander who was now standing before them.

"Will do Natsu." said Wendy not even realizing that she called him by his actual name. Or him glaring at her as she took off to give Jet the treatment that he definitely needed.

"You killed them." stated Erza in complete disbelief as she looked at Salamander.

"Have you also gone crazy Erza, I have only killed Jackal today and plan on Fujimoto being the last." replied Salamander with a grin.

"You just killed Jet and Droy; they were your friends Natsu! How could you do something like that to your family that is only trying to help you?" shouted Erza as she started to slash at Natsu who easily dodged all of her attack with a smirk on his face as he waited for the right moment to make his move.

"You guys aren't really good at this whole trying to get me to come back are you? It honestly makes me sick to just say this but, the only one that has done a halfway decent job is Grey." said Salamander as he continued to duck and dodge all of Erza's sloppy attacks.

"I gave up on that idea after you killed two of my friends Natsu!" shouted Erza as she made a sloppy lunge that Salamander took advantage of by kicking her in the knee. Causing her to scream out in pain as she started to fall to the ground with her knee dislocated, but was caught by the throat.

"For the last time I haven't killed anyone Erza, Laxus grabbed Droy right before my roar would have hit him. Even if it had he would have been in a lot of pain but still alive, and the same goes with Jet who will only paralyzed for maybe a day tops." said Salamander as he held her close to his face while glaring at her.

"What happened to you?" asked Erza in a whisper.

"You've already told me that you know exactly what happened to me, so why the hell do you guys keep asking me? Do you guys want me to tell you that I found my mate in that god forsaken hell hole and had to watch as she was brutally butchered right in front of my while I could nothing but watch? Or do you want to know how I got captured by them in the first place?" asked Salamander as he glared at all of them while still holding Erza by the throat. They were all speechless not knowing what he would do with Erza if they upset him more.

"None of that matters right now, so Jellal what will you do now that I am holding the women that you care for?" asked Salamander as he made Erza start gasping for air.

"Natsu put her down this instant, or you'll force me to use Fairy Law!" shouted Makarov before Jellal could respond.

"That was very rude of you Makarov. I was trying to have a friendly conversation with my good pal Jellal." said Salamander with a grin as he continued to disregard Makarov's threat.

"I am not messing around Natsu!" shouted Makarov as he started to build up the spell.

"And I am serious about you guys not using that name anymore, but that is the fifth time you guys have said it without me making you pay. So it looks like Erza will have to be the unlucky recipient for four of them since Wendy was a little preoccupied." said Salamander in a growl.

"I am giving you to the count of three to put her down!" shouted Makarov.

"I am so scared Makarov." replied Salamander as he started to laugh.

"One!" shouted Makarov.

"Do you know what the problem of that spell you are using Makarov?" asked Salamander.

"Two!" shouted Makarov as he was getting ready to release Fairy Law on Natsu. He started to think about the boy in front of him that had countless number of times saved Fairy Tail when they needed him, and who used to able to brighten anyone's day just by being around them.

"You have to view the target as your enemy for it to have any affect at all." stated Salamander with a smirk.

"Three!" shouted Makarov hoping to see Natsu drop Erza.

"Laxus couldn't view me as an enemy all those years ago Makarov, so there is no way in hell you'll be able to since you've always seen the members of Fairy Tail as your kids. So let me have it Makarov give me your best shot, prove me wrong that you are able to strike down your precious Natsu!" said Salamander with turned into a shout at the end.

"You're right, I could never do that to you." said Makarov as he lowered his head and canceled the spell knowing that he couldn't view Natsu as his enemy meaning that the spell would do nothing. Even after he beat up a few members but that was to be expected when they were trying to prevent him from killing Fujimoto.

"So Jellal back to you and what are you going to do?" asked Salamander with a smirk.

"I am going to do what Erza would want me to do, which is not give in to your threats." stated Jellal as he glared at Salamander.

"Well would you look at that Erza, I think he's going to enjoy watching you suffer like he did all of those years ago. Didn't I tell you that a part of him enjoyed that and it's coming out right now." said Salamander as he smiled at Erza with a smile that had no warmth like Natsu's used to.

"No he doesn't you AAAHHHH!" said Erza which turned into a scream as Salamander punched her in the gut with fist that was covered with all of his elements that he's been using throughout this fight. This meant everything but his death magic because he didn't want to actually kill her.

"Did I say you could talk Erza, and that was for using my name the first time?" asked Salamander in a growl as he watched his old friends look at him with pure rage.

"Salamander I am begging you to please let her go and stop with all of this nonsense." said Makarov who looked terrible right now.

"You know how to make all of this stop in an instant Makarov. Just give me that worthless piece of shit and no one else has to get hurt and Erza can start getting treated for the poison that I just gave her." replied Salamander.

"You bastard give us her right now!" shouted Grey as he flared up his magic.

"What part of this are all of you finding so hard understand, I am going to keep doing this until I get the things that I want?" asked Salamander as he cocked back his fist to give Erza another dose of his anger. But was then hit by two different attacks that he didn't anticipate to be coming, one was an iron pole to the face while the other was a punch to his chest effectively separating him from Erza.

"Oh it looks like you two have finally decided to join in on the party HAHAHAHAHA. It was going to be boring since Erza was already down and Makarov has lost his will to fight me." stated Salamander as he now had a wicked grin on his face.

"We don't want to fight you Salamander we are only here to protect these idiots." stated Gajeel with his guard up ready for Salamander to attack.

"I guess that makes sense but it would have been smarter and also safer if you convinced them to not do this at all." said Salamander as he inspected his two new opponents.

"You know how stubborn they can be Salamander, and believe me we tried." stated Laxus who was doing the same thing as Gajeel.

"That I do, I mean look at what they made me do to people I used to call my friends." said Salamander as he gestured to the knocked out mages.

"We didn't make you do that at all Salamander!" shouted Grey who was livid with Salamander right now.

"That you did Grey, I told you exactly what would happen if you stood in my way and I am a man of my word. Now you two have kind of pissed me off by taking away my bargaining chip, which means I need to get a new one." said Salamander as he then looked over at the other mages that were a part of the support team with a glint in his eye.

"Don't you dare touch any of them Salamander, they haven't done anything to oppose you!" shouted Gajeel as he saw the look in his eye.

"But you two just did and now I think I am going to make you pay." said Salamander as he turned into a bolt of lightning and raced towards the group that were tending to the already wounded mages.

 **"ICE MAKE: SHIELD!"** shouted Grey as he constructed a large dome of Ice over the group.

 **"LIGHTNING DRAGON'S ROAR!"** shouted Laxus as he appeared in front of the dome of Ice and tried to intercept Salamander.

 **"IRON WALL!"** shouted Gajeel as he smashed his fist into the ground causing an iron wall to shoot up in between Laxus and the Ice dome containing their friends and the wounded.

But all of them were surprised to see Salamander dodge Laxus's roar and veer off into a different direction which happened to be where Jellal was standing. They all wanted to warn the wizard that he was the Salamander's true target but it was already too late for that. And all they could do was watch as Salamander appeared behind Jellal and raised his fist to strike the man down with it covered in all of his elements once again but were completely shocked to see his fist strike against a barrier just like it did with Fujimoto.

"It's about time you tried to just take me out Salamander." said Jellal as he turned to the slightly shocked Salamander.

"I guess that explains why you weren't joining in Jellal, you were concerned about your wellbeing more than the rest of your group." said Salamander as he had a hand on the barrier and was intently inspecting it.

"Oh that isn't the reason Salamander; I knew that the only thing that you truly cared about is getting to Fujimoto. Which meant that we had to do anything we could to prevent that which is why I am doing this, oh and I also noticed that you seem to like to talk a lot now." stated Jellal with a smug grin.

"Your point Jellal, I would think that you would like me talking rather than ripping your mages and friends a part right in front of you?" asked Salamander with a devious grin.

"Oh I do Natsu, but that also lets us spring a perfect trap on you." said Jellal as he watched Natsu face contort to one of pure rage at his name being used which quickly turned to one of confusion at the last part and also for the fact that Jellal was getting taller. Which Salamander quickly realized wasn't the case at all and he was actually sinking into the floor because of it turning into liquid that he couldn't get out of.

"Hit him now everyone!" shouted Jellal knowing that this was their time to attack.

 **"MAGUILTY SODOM!"** shouted Meredy as she sent a swarm of teal magic blades right at Salamander who was temporarily immobilized.

 **"SOUND WAVE!"** shouted Cobra as he and the other members of Crime Sorciere appeared beside Meredy ready to unleash their own attacks along with him.

 **"DARK RONDO!"** shouted Midnight as he used the same attack as last time they fought Salamander, hoping that him being in Hoteye's liquid sand would prevent him from destroying it like last time.

 **"PUNCHING ANGEL!"** shouted Angel as muscular angel appeared and started to punch Salamander.

 **"ICE MAKE: CANNON!"** shouted Grey who realized that this was their best shot at taking him down and fired into the fray.

"Hit him again!" shouted Jellal before all of the attacks were even done. The five mages complied with his command and unleashed another round of attacks.

 **"SOUND WAVE! ICE MAKE: LANCE! HAMMER ANGEL! DARK CAPRICCIO! MAGUILTY RAYS!"** they all shouted together as they unleashed another round of attacks on Salamander.

"One more round to be safe." commanded Jellal as he couldn't help but smile at seeing Natsu actually taking damage from all of these attack bombarding him at once while Hoteye was keeping him immobilized in his liquid ground. The mages once again did another attack using the same spells as one of the two previous attacks.

"Did that get him Jellal?" asked Grey knowing that Jellal was right next to Natsu and completely fine because of his barrier.

"Yes it did Grey, he's not going to be getting up anytime soon." stated Jellal as he looked down at unmoving body of Natsu Dragneel laying before him not moving. Salamander was still alive if only barely judging by the labored breaths that he was taking.

"How is he?" asked Mira who was concerned after watching five mages all attack Natsu at once while he couldn't guard himself three times.

"He's alive but barely." stated Jellal as he walked away from Natsu lying on the ground.

"Wendy go start healing him." said Mira.

"Don't you go near him Wendy, we aren't done yet." stated Jellal in a loud voice.

"What are you talking about Jellal, you just said that he's barely alive!" shouted Lucy.

"We are now going onto the second part of our plan." stated Jellal which confused all of the support team because they apparently were left out of this.

"What the hell is he talking about Gramps?" asked Laxus in a threatening tone.

"He's talking about us making sure that Natsu doesn't continue his killing spree." said Makarov after letting out a long sigh.

"Why weren't we informed of this?" asked Gajeel who looked pissed about being left in the dark.

"Because we know that none of you would have agreed to it, and we have to hurry Makarov otherwise we won't get another chance like this." stated Jellal as he looked at the small Master of Fairy Tail.

"I know, I know, Warren and Grey if you would." replied Makarov.

"What are they going to do?" asked Wendy who was obviously concerned for Natsu.

"Warren is going to be locking down Natsu's mind while he is weakened so that Grey can freeze him in his devil slayer ice that Natsu can't melt. Which will mean the end of Natsu killing dark wizards until we figure out how to help him through this." explained Makarov with a frown.

"Are you fucking insane Gramps, how is any of this going to help Natsu? If anything it's only going to make it worse where he might start seeing legal mages as enemies now!" shouted Laxus who was about to go stop the other two from doing it but realized that it was already too late.

"How could you do this to him?" asked Mira as she thought along the same lines of what Laxus just said.

"Because it was the only way to stop him." said Erza weakly as she joined the group again looking like she could barely stand.

"Like hell it was, so what are we going to do now? Are we going to take him back to the guild and throw him in the basement, because that seems awfully like what he experienced at Rising Tide?" asked Gajeel who was completely against all of this along with most of the support team.

"There was no other way you guys, you all saw what he was capable of." stated Grey as he rejoined the group.

"We did Grey and we also saw him not kill any of you guys when he easily could have." stated Laxus with rage in his eyes.

"And how is that supposed to be something too proud about Laxus? Good for Natsu that he didn't kill any of his friends, if anything you just saying that proves that we did what was necessary." shouted Grey.

"It is something to be proud of Grey after what we just learned." said Wendy quietly with her head down as she tried to hold back her tears.

"What are you talking about Wendy?" asked Makarov who was now concerned even more about Natsu.

"Subject 8 was Natsu's mate and he watched her die Master!" shouted Wendy who then burst into tears just at the thought of that happening to her.

"I don't get any of this at all." stated Erza.

"It's a dragon slayer thing Titania, and if Subject 8 was Salamander's mate we are all incredibly lucky that he didn't kill anything in his sight." stated Gajeel with a frown on his face as he looked at his fellow dragon slayer encased in ice.

"Wait why is that so important?" asked Meredy who wanted to know where Ultear was and hated that Natsu was knocked out and unable to tell her.

"Because if a dragon loses their mate from anything other than natural causes they usually go into a blind rage and kill anything in their path until they are finally brought down and the same applies for their slayers. But it would appear that Salamander somehow focused all of that too just dark mages and I can only hope that he won't change that after today." answered Gajeel while shaking his head.

"So that's why you thanked him for saying that he would make sure to kill you first if he ever was going to kill Levy." stated Erza who was glad to figure that out since it had been bugging her.

"Yes because like I said before most slayers and dragons go into a blind rage where it doesn't matter if you are friend or foe. All they want to do is unleash their wrath on the world and watch it crumble because the only thing that they cared about is now gone." said Gajeel as hugged Levy protectively.

"Well this all took a very unexpected turn." said the Chairman with his smile still on his face.

"We're Fairy Tail and that's what we do and as you can see Chairman we have contained Fujimoto and are now going to take our member back with us." stated Master Makarov.

"Hold up one moment Master Makarov because that is not at all what I am seeing here. What I just saw was Fairy Tail with the help of dark mages apprehend an independent mage who has been doing everything in his power to protect Fiore like he used to do when he was with your guild." stated the Chairman.

"Natsu is a member of Fairy Tail and none of them should even still be classified as dark mages after all the good that they've done for Fiore!" shouted Erza.

"Calm down Erza, we're trying to have a pleasant conversation here. So let's settle this thing about them being dark mages first." stated the Chairman who still had that smile of his on his face.

"Wait you are actually willing to discuss that?" asked Erza in disbelief.

"Yes I am, because if today taught me anything. It taught me that the old way of doing things was definitely not working otherwise Fujimoto wouldn't have climbed his way to the top like he did. So I am willing to pardon mages that have earned that right which apparently some of these dark mages have." said the Chairman as he gestured to the members of Crime Sorciere.

"You said some Chairman, meaning that not all of us are going to be pardoned?" asked Jellal.

"That is correct Jellal and I would expect nothing less from someone who used to be on the council." stated the Chairman with a grin.

"So I take it that I will be the only one not pardoned because of that fact." stated Jellal.

"You are correct that you are the only one not being pardoned Jellal. But the reason is what you said along with the fact that what you did and tried to do was way worse than all of them combined and that is something the Council can't forgive." explained the Chairman.

"That's complete bullshit!" shouted Erza.

"Calm down Erza, I just have one more question for you Chairman." said Jellal after holding Erza back.

"And what would that be Jellal?" asked the Chairman.

"Will Fairy Tail be punished for working with us today and if I happen to help them out with things later on will they be affected negatively?" asked Jellal as he looked at the Chairman.

"I see no reason to punish them since they have been usually doing what's right for Fiore. And as long as they continue to do that I see no reason that a third party can't help them even if they are a dark mage trying to make up for his mistakes." said the Chairman with his smile once again back on his face. Needless to say this shocked all of the Fairy Tail members there because the Chairman sounded as if he actually liked Fairy Tail and he even said that he was going to pardon most of Crime Sorciere which was completely unexpected.

"I can live with that, so do I need to start running now?" asked Jellal with a grin.

"I would say no since no Rune Knights have come yet, probably due to Jackal killing them all like he would have done to us if Salamander hadn't gotten here in time. Which is what we need to discuss now Master Makarov, especially after watching and listening to everything that just happened." said the Chairman as he now looked at Makarov.

"There is nothing to discuss Chairman, we are going to be bringing him back with us." stated Makarov with a serious expression on his face.

"But that is where you are wrong, Natsu Dragneel is no longer a member of Fairy Tail Master Makarov." replied the Chairman.

"Yes he is." said Makarov as he glared at the Chairman.

"No he isn't because he doesn't have your mark and after witnessing what I just did I am confident that he doesn't want to go back with you." pointed out the Chairman once again smiling at them.

"That's because his mark was taken away from him when he was with Rising Tide." refuted Mira who had no idea what the Chairman would do with Natsu if they left him with the man.

"Then way doesn't he have a new one, because that was more than a month ago." replied the Chairman seeing that none of them had a response to that.

"Natsu will always be a member of Fairy Tail." stated Lucy who couldn't come up with anything better just like the rest of them.

"You all might see it that way but the Salamander definitely doesn't, which is why I want you to release him from that Ice." said the Chairman as he looked at Grey.

"Like hell I will, you saw how hard it was to put him in there!" shouted Grey.

"That I did and I have to agree with your support group about you all being lucky that you are still alive when he easily could have killed you all. So I am asking you nicely to release him before he wakes up and starts thinking about changing his policy of only killing dark mages." said the Chairman as he lost his smile.

"I won't let Natsu go back to being a killing machine that you guys are only using to make your life easier." declared Grey.

"I guess I should have seen that coming from the once best friend of Salamander. Master Makarov please tell your mage to do as I ask or I might have to rethink my lenience or your guild working alongside a dark guild." said the Chairman as he looked at Makarov.

"I will no…" started Makarov but was drowned out by Warren and Cobra falling to the ground screaming out in pain as they both clutched their heads.

"That the hell just happened?" asked Levy as she watched the two men writhe on the ground in agony.

"I was going to say that Cobra was hearing more of what happened to Salamander but that doesn't explain why he's on the ground also. Unless he also looked into the Salamanders mind, for the love of god please don't tell me that you had him also look into his mind?" asked Midnight with complete terror in his eyes.

"We did but why are you so terrified by that?" asked Grey.

"Did none of you see how much pain Cobra gets just from hearing what happened, now imagine if you are getting all of the other senses as well?" asked Cobra as Warren started to scream louder and louder while starting to claw at his face until he was restrained by Gajeel.

"I can't believe that you would take such a risk after seeing what happened to Cobra." growled Gajeel as he held Warren back from hurting himself.

"Looks like you might have ordered one of your mages to make himself crazy Gramps." stated Laxus with a frown.

"But he was fine when he first did it." stated Makarov.

"So was Cobra at first but that was because he couldn't comprehend what he was hearing at first." said Angel with a frown as she watched the two men continue to scream out in pain.

"Is there anything we can do to help him?" asked Wendy ready to do anything to help Warren.

"Sorry Wendy but there isn't anything we can do but wait for them to come back to us." answered Meredy while placing a hand on her shoulder.

"How long are they going to be like this?" asked a councilman.

"Each one varies, we think it depends on how much information they are getting." replied Jellal as he looked at Cobra and Warren and felt bad that another person was going through what Cobra did but probably way more painful.

"He's he's he's." mumbled Cobra only loud enough for the dragon slayers to hear.

"What was that Cobra?" asked Laxus as he got closer.

"He's awake and he's not happy." whispered Cobra with complete and total fear in his eyes.

"What did he just say Laxus?" asked Erza.

"That he's awake and he's not happy." replied Laxus as they all then heard loud cracking sounds coming from behind them where Natsu as imprisoned. And what they all saw terrified all of them as Grey's ice now had huge cracks in it that were slowly increasing each second.

"You aren't doing that Grey are you?" asked Erza who could see from the shock on Grey's face that indeed wasn't responsible for it.

"It looks like you all failed in your goal, now we can only pray that he's still the same man as when you put him in there." stated the Chairman who now had a little fear in his voice as the block of ice shattered sending shards of the ice everywhere.

 **"ADAMANTINE BARRIER!"** shouted Erza as she blocked all of it from hitting their group and watched the shards that would have hit the already knocked out mages run into a barrier that Freed had put up to protect them in case of something like this.

"I tried to be civil about this but that didn't work so now I am going to have to do things the messy way. It would also appear that I should learn a few more spells other than my lethal ones because it's honestly hard to fight you guys while making sure I don't accidentally kill any of you." said Salamander as he now stood before them completely fine except for his clothing having holes and cuts all over as the temperature in the room started to drop.

"How the hell did you get out of there?" asked Grey in complete shock.

"Does this answer your question Grey?" asked Salamander as ice started to form outwards from him and slowly got closer to the group that started to back away from it.

"How is that even possible?" asked Grey who realized that he was the only one who could actually stop it which he easily did since Salamander had just obtained it.

"I absorbed it through my body after I ate the little that was in my mouth, which by the way was really appreciated. Because otherwise I would have had to start using magic that probably would have killed all of you which would have been bad with me trying to not become a dark mage and all." said Salamander with a huge grin across his face.

"Fuck this is really bad guys." stated Grey which everyone was already thinking.

"Oh it's worse than you could possibly imagine Grey because I can see from the twitching mess that used to be Warren. You guys tried to learn things that you had no business seeing and now because of that Warren is probably insane already." stated Salamander with a smile.

"Are you saying that you did this?" asked Erza as she glared at him.

"Yes I am Erza but before you come at me like the crazy person you are let me explain. I honestly don't know how it happened but my body came up with its own defense against people trying to manipulate my brain like those bastards at Rising Tide did during the first year. But they kept trying which caused my magic or whatever is doing this to attack anyone trying to do that by flooding them with everything that they ever did to me. Which if I am honest is more than most people can handle, especially if they get it all at once like Warren did here and it would appear that Cobra is only getting the sound." said Salamander still smiling at them.

"Can you stop it?" asked Makarov.

"Actually I can, but why in the world would I do that Makarov after what you just did to me and tried to invade my mind? And let's not forget that you are preventing me from my revenge." stated the Salamander with a grin.

"Please Salamander don't make him go through what you did." replied Makarov.

"And why not, he was the one trying to dig around in here which actually reminds me I need to figure out what happened while I was knocked out and frozen." said Salamander as he pointed to his head and then closed his eyes as Warren then started to scream out in more pain.

"Stop what you are doing right now Salamander or so help me." threatened Erza.

"Calm down Erza I was just catching up on what I missed and you know that those threats of yours mean nothing to me. And the only reason you are alive right now is because you aren't classified as a dark mage even though all of you should be after teaming up with Jellal and his band of misfits." stated Salamander as he glared back at her.

"They aren't dark mages anymore." argued Erza.

"I know and honestly it kind of makes me sad I really wanted to watch Jellal beg for mercy as I destroyed his whole little guild in front of him but that's ruined now." said Salamander as he glared at the Chairman.

"You've made it clear that the old ways aren't working Salamander." stuttered the Chairman who didn't like the way Salamander was looking at him.

"I know Chairman and am really glad that you are willing to change how things work around here, and you did leave my old pal Jellal for me to play with. But I still have to ask if I can take away the magic of legal members for today since they are still in my way of getting to Fujimoto?" asked Salamander with a creepy smile.

"Of course Salamander since you saved the council today and I am still curious how you even do it." answered the Chairman once again with his usual smile on his face since he now knew that Salamander wasn't mad at him.

"Alright Chairman, that's what I wanted to hear from you. So who is going to be the first one I demonstrate on out of all the possibilities?" asked Salamander as he slowly looked at all of them and could see the fear in their eyes.

"I think you'll do just fine for my first example and as Jellal said earlier I talk too much so this is going to happen unless I get what I want right now." said Salamander as he looked eyes with the mage who became ghostly white at what they just heard.

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. I am going to wrap up this confrontation in the next chapter since Salamander is no longer going to be so willing to talk with them after what just happened to him. I know that it might seem like Salamander might be unstoppable but that is wrong because in this chapter he could have died if it wasn't Fairy Tail along with Crime Sorciere who don't believe in killing. Because despite being extremely powerful he can still be overwhelmed when caught in a trap like he was, it also hurt him that he needed hold back because he couldn't kill them and he still might have a few feelings for them. Unlike all of the dark guilds where he doesn't have to restrain himself and can go wild. So as always feel free to leave me a review and I will try to get respond back to you and possibly discuss what I should do with this story or even just the next chapter.**

 **Until the next Chapter**

 **Digem Out!**


	9. The Resolution

Ch 9: The Resolution

"Well the barrier is still up so let's get this started then, **INSTANTANEOUS FREEZE!"** shouted Salamander as everything around him froze in an instant, covered by the ice he just obtained from Grey. All except for where Grey blocked it resulting in a huge triangle behind him being unaffected by the spell Salamander unleashed with a simple flick of his wrist. Unfortunately this didn't stop all of the mages gathered to be spared from the surprise attack that Salamander threw at them.

Most of the Fairy Tail mages were already behind Grey with the rest of the Council as well, but unfortunately a few of the ex-mages from Crime Sorciere weren't as lucky. Cobra was pulled out of the way by Midnight leaving the rest of them expect for Jellal and Racer to be hit by it along with the injured members of Fairy Tail since Freed didn't account for Salamander being able to use ice magic when setting up the barrier.

"Impressive Grey, but I think you might want to go and start thawing your friends before they suffer the effects of not being able to breath. Or we could have a little fight where you lose, oh and their chances of having brain damage increase with every second." said Salamander with a smug grin.

"You're so going to get it once I am done saving them Salamander!" shouted Grey as he took off to go and free the wounded members of his guild before they suffered anything bad from being frozen by Salamander.

"Hello there, Richard Buchanan. You were formerly known as Hoteye a dark mage known for his willingness to do anything for money. Your liquid earth was what got me by surprise so I am going to be taking that away from you right now since Racer was the only smart one to not even show his face to me after our last meeting." said Salamander as he reached into the Ice that parted for him to have access to the mage.

"Salamander you fucking bastard don't you dare!" shouted Jellal who had once again activated the barrier around himself.

"Too late Jellal." replied Salamander as he put his palm onto Richard's chest and then had the ice disappear around the mage.

"Wait what is AAAAAHHHHH!" screamed Richard as he clutched his chest while falling to the floor.

"I am not messing around anymore so give Fujimoto to me right now or another one gets it." stated Salamander as he looked at the group who were confused at what happened because it didn't even look like Salamander did anything to Richard. But because of the painful screams coming from the mage on the ground they all knew that Salamander definitely did.

"What did you just do to him Salamander?" asked Erza who couldn't stand listening to Richard scream like he was in the worst pain of his life which he happened to actually be in.

"I just started to take away his magic, which as you can tell is a very painful process but it seems that you still aren't getting the main point that is I am going to keep doing this is to anyone who stands in my way." replied Salamander with a smile that looked similar to one that Natsu used to always have on his face while at Fairy Tail. This of course infuriated Erza so much so, that she charged at Salamander ready to take him down by herself if she needed to.

"You'll pay for that Salamander!" she shouted but had to jump to the side as a blast of ice shot from the floor and almost hit her.

"That's funny that you actually believe that Erza, and if no one interferes with this fight I will hold off on taking someone else's magic." said Salamander as Richard still screamed out in pain.

"Everyone stand down, he's mine right now and will pay for doing that to one of his friends." snarled Erza as she glared at Natsu.

"Erza you can't take him on alone especially after seeing him shrug off five S-Class mages hitting him with everything that they've got." argued Lucy hoping that Erza would see that she stood no chance against Natsu when he was like this.

"Lucy's right Erza, and just so you know Richard was never one of my friends." said Salamander with that same smile that made Erza's blood boil. Erza screamed and ran straight at Salamander ready to run her sword right through him, but she wasn't expecting him to just stand there with a grin. Erza kept waiting for Salamander to move out of the way of her attack and was ready for it, but she wasn't ready for him to not move at all as she drove her sword right through him.

"Why didn't you move?" asked Erza with wide eyes as she was now face to face with Salamander with her sword sticking out of him.

"I just wanted this nightmare to end." stated Salamander as he coughed up blood right into Erza's face.

"Then why didn't you just stop?" asked Erza still frozen like everyone else that was watching.

"Because that wasn't possible Erza, this was the only way." choked out Salamander while spewing more blood from his mouth.

"That isn't true Natsu, there's always another way." stated Erza as she finally looked down at her hands covered in her friend's blood because of her.

"Then why did you just kill me Erza when you wouldn't let me kill Fujimoto who helped killed hundreds if not thousands of innocent civilians? But you are okay with killing someone that you used to call your friend?" asked Salamander as fell forward for Erza to catch him.

"I didn't mean to Natsu, you were supposed to dodge it like you did earlier. Why didn't you dodge it you idiot?" asked Erza with tears slowly forming in her eyes as she held Natsu from falling to the ground.

"Because I wanted to see that face of yours when you realize that you are even worse than I ever was because you just killed a legal mage that did nothing wrong in the eyes of the Council." said Salamander quietly to her as a grin formed on his face that only Erza couldn't see.

"No, no no no no no this can't be happening." denied Erza as she pushed Natsu off of her hoping to be able to save him, but was shocked to see him smiling at her. But before she could even react he grabbed her by the throat and he gave her a quick punch to the gut that destroyed her breast plate in the process.

"HAHAHAHA oh you should see your face right now Erza, didn't I tell you that your threats mean nothing to me. But you actually thought that I would die from a simple wound like that, come on Erza I got injured like that all the time when I was still a member at that pathetic guild of yours." said Salamander with a sneer.

"But how?" choked out Erza.

"The same way that I was able to recover after five of your mages attacked me earlier Erza or did you forget that you guys literally beat me within an inch of my life. And if I didn't have sky god slayer magic I would have died before you assholes even got me halfway back to Magnolia." said Salamander as he pulled the sword out of him while still holding Erza by the throat. Everyone was shocked to see the wound heal itself within a matter of seconds now only leaving a hole in his shirt.

"Salamander let her go this instant." shouted Makarov getting ready to attack Salamander if he needed to.

"So you want me to start taking away someone else's magic because you missed the sound of screams in the background, aren't you quite the sadist Makarov? Or did you just forget that Erza here made an agreement with me that it would be just the two of us battling so that no one else would lose their magic? If any of you interfere I think that the great Titania might be the next person to no longer be a mage." asked Salamander as all of the mages assembled looked to see what Makarov was going to do.

"Can't you just stop all of this Salamander?" asked Makarov as he watched Erza gasp for air in the Salamander's clutch.

"For the last fucking time you guys are the ones that keep dragging this thing on. All you have to do to end this is give me Fujimoto and walk away, making all of this just a terrible memory of how you once again failed to protect your guild members Makarov." shouted Salamander who then proceeded to punch Erza two more times in the gut causing her to scream out in pain because of the lightning and poison that he added in.

"Natsu stop this right now before you do something that we can't forgive you for doing!" shouted Makarov.

"That's already happened Makarov, or are you still so delusional that you think everything can go back to how it was before you left me to rot in Raising Tide's basement. I knew right away when I escaped that hell hole with my own power that most of you would see me as nothing more than a killer so I decided that I would continue on down that path. And take away everything that all dark mages hold dear just like they did to me when they killed her and made what I used to call my family turn against me. And you can have your precious Erza back because she isn't even worth my time when I have some ex dark mages to play with." said Salamander as he hurled Erza at Grey who had just gotten done with unfreezing the injured mages.

"Natsu that isn't true otherwise we wouldn't be here trying to stop you and take you home." shouted Makarov as he put himself in between Salamander and his new targets.

 **"POISON FIRE DRAGON GOD'S ROAR!"** shouted Salamander as he unleashed a roar right at Makarov without any warning.

 **"IRON DRAGON'S ROAR!"** shouted Gajeel who appeared in front of Makarov having been able to see the signs of Natsu doing this move in advance. And everyone was shocked to see Gajeel's roar beat Salamanders as if it was nothing, which they quickly then realized why that was when the roar was going straight into Salamander's mouth.

Gajeel instantly cut off his roar when he saw this and sat back as they watched Natsu finish eating the roar and made a few facial expressions of discomfort until it was replaced by a smug grin. And then all of the spectators watched as Salamander looked at his fingers that were the only parts not covered in his red wraps as they were now made of metal.

"I have been waiting for you to do that Gajeel since you all showed up here. This might come in handy later on so now step aside or I'll decided to focus my attention onto Levy." said Salamander as his fingers turned back to normal.

"You wouldn't Salamander." growled Gajeel as he glared at him.

"I really don't want to Gajeel so take your Master with you so I can show him and Jellal what happens when they continue to try and protect a dark mage who has done nothing but plot to get rid of both of them while doing unspeakable things." shouted Salamander as he then continued to walk towards Meredy and Angle both still trapped in the ice.

"Let's go Master, this is the only reason we came with you." said Gajeel as he grabbed Makarov and jumped back to the rest of the group before Makarov could stop him.

"Gajeel put me down right now." demanded Makarov as he struggled to get free, which Gajeel did but this allowed Salamander to be right in front of his next victim.

"Sorry Angel no hard feelings but I still might need to use Meredy to get some information out of Ultear and Midnight is helping Cobra who I can't touch until the end of the month. This means you are the one that Jellal has decided to lose their magic since he values Fujimoto's life more than that of his guild members. But hey what do you expect from a monster like him." said Salamander as he reached into the Ice ready to turn Angel into a normal human.

"Please Salamander don't do this, I was only following orders and never wanted to do any of this." begged Angel.

"Don't ask me Angel ask your friend Jellal who already made me take away Richards magic, because I was also following his orders." said Natsu as his hand was only an inch away from touching her and taking away her magic.

"Like hell he did you psycho!" shouted Grey as he set Erza down for Wendy to get to work on.

"I guess you are right Grey but there were only two options and Jellal decided to wait behind his barrier and watch me decimate all of you. While probably enjoying it since that is the kind of man that he is." stated Salamander as he looked at Grey with an amused facial expression.

"Jellal please just let him have Fujimoto!" shouted Angel while crying with Salamander only an inch away from taking away something that she never thought that she could actually lose.

"He's not going to listen to you Angel because he never cared about you ever and only saw you as a pawn for him to use as he saw fit. Sorry Angel I wish you had stayed away with Racer so this didn't have to happen." said Salamander as he once again was about to take away the mages magic but was stopped by a shout from Jellal.

"Wait!" shouted Jellal as he started to walk towards Natsu no longer protecting himself in his barrier.

"That was cutting it very close there Jellal since I have already placed my special seal on her." said Salamander as Angel let out a small scream of pain as Salamander's seal was burned onto her stomach.

"You bastard I said wait!" shouted Jellal with rage in his eyes.

"Yes you did you asshole and at the last possible second might I add, which is why Angel still has her magic since I haven't activated my spell yet." replied Salamander as he took a step away from Angel.

"Then why didn't you say that right away?" asked Jellal still extremely angry at Salamander.

"Because this lets you know that I can take away her magic whenever I feel like it, so why hasn't the barrier come down on the person that I really want to be speaking with?" asked Salamander as he glared back at Jellal.

"That is because I still can't let you do this Salamander, he's already been exposed of his crimes and will spend the rest of his life in jail." stated Jellal.

"Oh just like you did Jellal, sorry but my way has results that guarantee no more problems later on. Well it looks like you are still going to lose your magic Angel." said Salamander as he was about to snap his fingers.

"Just wait Salamander, you don't have to do that when all you have to do is beat me up to get what you want." said Jellal with a smug grin.

"Good point Jellal, but this took you too long to realize which means Angel has to now pay for your mistake." replied Salamander as he snapped his fingers and instantly Angel started to scream out in pain. As Salamander launched himself at Jellal hoping to take him out in his state of confusion but that was not the case as Jellal disappeared right before the punch would have hit him.

"You didn't need to do that, I am right here you fucking bastard." shouted Jellal who was on the other side of the destroyed room.

"You're right Jellal but you are forgetting that I don't actually want you I want Fujimoto and I hope that her screaming will remind you of that." said Salamander as he changed into lightning and bolted at Jellal who used his Meteor spell to keep just out of reach of every attack that Salamander threw at him.

"Gramps we need to pull back now before it gets any worse than it already is." stated Laxus as he watched the two mages zip around the room.

"That is probably for the best Laxus so please take the wounded and go, I need to stay here and try to get through to him." replied Makarov with a very sad expression on his face, while Laxus could only shake his head and get the others to grab the wounded and leave before that number got higher.

"There is no way in hell I am going to leave you here all alone Master." said Grey having just gotten Angel and Meredy out of the ice.

"That goes for me too." stated Erza now standing on her legs that looked a little unsteady but were the only things holding her upright.

"Erza you are too injured to stay." replied Makarov as he glared at her.

"That doesn't matter since he still needs us to bring him back to his senses." replied Erza as she glared back at Makarov.

"There's nothing to bring back we should have never agreed to help you with this at all." said Midnight with hatred in his voice as he helped Angel to her feet since she was no longer screaming in pain.

"I warned you all that this wasn't a good idea." said Cobra who was helping Richard to his feet since he was curled up in the corner after Salamander took his magic from him.

"But because you didn't listen to him we were the ones that suffered more than you, now two of my friends are no longer mages. So I am getting the hell out of here before you guys make Salamander start killing anyone in his way since you apparently don't care that they lost their magic." shouted Midnight as he destroyed a part of the wall so they could escape safely without getting caught up in the fight between Salamander and Jellal.

"Why aren't you going with them Meredy?" asked Grey surprised that she didn't leave with her friends.

"I still want to save Natsu from himself and also figure out where Ultear is." replied Meredy as she watched the battle still rage on. But in all honesty it wasn't much of a battle, it was more a game of Salamander trying to catch Jellal and finish him off in one move which was of course causing more damage to the already destroyed room.

"You'll never be able to catch me Salamander because I have improved my Meteor spell to levels you'll never be able to reach anytime soon. And as you can see almost everyone else has left, so give this up Salamander." said Jellal with a smug grin.

"I have to agree with you on that Jellal, but I could easily hunt them down in a matter of seconds. But since there are a few people still here I might as well target them since I can't catch you." said Salamander with a malicious grin spread across his lips.

"This is just between you and me Salamander!" shouted Jellal.

"That is how this could have been Jellal but you decided to get their help in trying to take me down. Which makes them as much a part of this just as you are Jellal." stated Salamander as he turned and looked at the four mages staring at him along with the Chairman who was the only Council Member there other than Fujimoto who was still trapped in the barrier that Jellal made.

The next move that Salamander did was bolting at the already weakened Erza to quickly finish her off before she could defend herself. Making sure to hit her hard enough to not be able to rejoin the fight afterwards, but once again someone intervened and stopped him from hitting her. It was Makarov roughly pushing her out the way meaning that he took the full blow instead of Erza, which launched him into a pillar that was surprisingly still standing.

"Master!" shouted Grey and Erza which became only Erza as Salamander delivered a severe punch to the side of Grey's face launching him once again through a wall and then backhanding Meredy the other direction. Salamander looked at Erza for only a second before returning his gaze to Makarov who was slowly getting up after being hit like that, so Salamander started his trek over to his old Master.

"You should have listened to me Makarov, I didn't want to do any of this but you gave me no other option. And I can now see by the look in your eyes that you are going to keep on trying to stop me from completing my new purpose in life." said Salamander as he got closer to Makarov.

"You are correct Natsu, because I failed you before I am not going to do that again." said Makarov as he spat out some blood that was pooling in his mouth.

"Natsu is gone Makarov, and I realized that the only way to make sure that you never bother me again is for me to take away your magic." stated Salamander as he was now only five feet away from Makarov.

"That still won't be enough Natsu, I will keep trying to bring you back until the day that I die." replied Makarov as he looked at Natsu with a sad face as he got ready for Natsu to get to work.

"I truly doubt that Makarov because most mages become shells of what they used to be after they lose their magic. But I guess there is really only one way to find out isn't there?" asked Salamander as he got ready to put the seal on Makarov.

"That there is Natsu, and I am so sorry for all of this." replied Makarov as tears started to well up in his eyes as he looked up at Natsu. Who had so much pain and suffering in his eyes along with an unquenchable anger wanting to get out and destroy everything in his path.

"Master please don't let him do this to you, Fairy Tail still needs you!" shouted Erza from the ground where she fell after being pushed by Makarov.

"Sorry Erza but Natsu needs me more, and I won't back down until he realizes that I am still here for him." replied Makarov as he turned to look at Erza with a grin on his face as tears started to fall down his face.

"All you have to do is just step aside Makarov." said Salamander with a hint of hope in his voice, obviously wishing that Makarov would finally listen to him.

"Sorry Natsu but I can't do that." replied Makarov as he smiled up at him.

"Makarov you are a stubborn old fool, and I hate it that you are making me do this to the person that raised me after Igneel disappeared." said Salamander now with a visible frown on his face.

"Aren't you the one that told me earlier that our actions always have consequences, and I believe that I am now paying the price for not being able to help you when you needed me the most." said Makarov still smiling up at Natsu.

"Maybe you're right Makarov." replied Salamander as he lost the frown that he once had.

"Natsu please don't do this, I'll do anything as long as you don't take Makarov from us." begged Erza now in tears as she watched Natsu get ready to take away Makarov's magic.

"It's going to be okay Erza; I am only going to be losing my magic. I will still be there for all of you in any way that I can as a normal person though." said Makarov as he continued to look directly into Natsu's eyes which were red for some reason and had been since they first saw him.

"You already know what I want Erza." stated Salamander as he gave her a quick glance.

"Jellal please give him Fujimoto." stated Erza as she hung her head in shame.

"Jellal don't listen to her, we have to stop Natsu right now from killing any more dark mages." said Makarov as he continued to look Natsu in the eyes.

"Sorry Erza but I can't do that, we all knew the risks that we were taking when we started this." replied Jellal which shocked both Erza and Salamander that he was actually saying no to her.

"Jellal you have to otherwise Master Makarov is going to lose his magic!" shouted Erza not understanding how Jellal could let this happen.

"This looks like it's your last day of being a mage Makarov, I hope you've accomplished all that you wanted to while being one." said Salamander as he thrusts his palm open at Makarov who was just waiting for it to hit him.

But they were all surprised when Salamander's hand stopped a few centimeters away from Makarov's chest. All thanks to a blue haired dragon slayer that couldn't stop herself from crying as she held Salamander's strike from landing on her Master with all of her strength.

"Wendy?" asked Salamander and they all could see the hesitation that he now had since Wendy was the one now challenging him from continuing on with his actions.

"Natsu you have to stop this right now and I don't mean killing dark mages. What I mean is you can't keep taking away the magic of normal mages that are trying to help you." said Wendy as she continued to cry in front of him while still holding his arm.

"You all keep saying that you're trying to help me but the only way you can do that is by letting me kill the person responsible for killing my mate!" shouted Salamander as he glared at Fujimoto with so much loathing that you could feel it coming off of him in waves.

"But taking away Master's magic isn't going to help that Natsu and I am here right now willing to actually help you get Fujimoto so you can finish this." stated Wendy, which shocked everyone there that she was now actually going to be helping Natsu get Fujimoto.

"It would prevent him from ever getting in my way again." stated Salamander as he glared at Makarov.

"You and I both know that she wouldn't have liked seeing you do this to your friends Natsu, even if it was all so you could avenge her death." cried out Wendy once again shocking all witnessing this since it sounded as if Wendy knew who Subject 8 was.

"Wendy you have no idea what she would've wanted or even who she was." stated Salamander in a cold tone as he pulled his arm away from Makarov.

"She was my friend too Natsu, so I know that she would have hated to see you do this to your family that you've always fought so hard to protect." stated Wendy with her head down while standing in between Salamander and Makarov.

"That's bullshit Wendy you have no idea what you're talking about so step aside so I can continue what I've started!" shouted Salamander as his magic flared up making it hard to breathe in the room.

"I do know what's going on Natsu; I didn't want to believe it at first but the only things that anyone has gotten from her were letters for the past year. That's how Rising Tide made it so no one would come looking for her, isn't it Natsu?" shouted Wendy back as she continued to cry while glaring at him.

"They sent one to you?" asked Salamander hesitantly wondering why but realized that he was gone for three years so a lot of things could've changed.

"Yes they did Natsu but they've sent more than one." stated Wendy as she continued to cry about her lost friend and what that did to Natsu.

"That doesn't make any sense." stated Salamander which confused Wendy.

"Why would sending multiple letters to her closest friend be confusing?" asked Wendy as she wiped away some of her tears.

"Because they only made her do it once Wendy and believe me that I would know if they did it again." growled Salamander as he started to think that Wendy might be confused.

"Well I got more than one Natsu, because that is what we agreed she would do when she went on that trip." declared Wendy having finally stopped crying.

"Then you're wrong Wendy and confused about who my mate was and that is probably for the best." replied Salamander as he finally got control of his magic.

"No Natsu, I even called her guild and they haven't had any communication with her except through letters." stated Wendy, positive that she was the only one besides Natsu who knew who Subject 8 was.

"It has to be a weird coincidence then Wendy because she only made one batch of letters as they tortured me right in front of her to get her to do it. So I know for a fact that you are mistaken, now get out of my way or were you lying to me about actually helping?" asked Salamander as he got fed up with this conversation.

"I said that I would help you with Fujimoto, but if you want to get to Master then you are going to have to go through me Natsu. And I do know who your mate was Natsu and do you think that…" said Wend but got cut off before she could say Subject 8's name.

"Don't you dare say her name Wendy!" growled Salamander as the temperature in the room started to plummet.

"Why Natsu, because you are afraid that I might be right?" asked Wendy.

"No because if you are correct then the world will know what she went through and that I couldn't do anything to prevent it." replied Salamander softly with his head hung low.

"It's okay Natsu, there was nothing that you could have done to help her with everything that they had you hooked up in." stated Wendy with a sad smile.

"But it was my only job as her mate to protect her, which I failed at along with being a father." mumbled Salamander so quietly that only Wendy could hear him. This caused Wendy to go wide eyed in disbelief at what she just heard come from Natsu's mouth.

"Cheila was pregnant?" shouted Wendy completely shocking everyone else by her randomly shouting this out.

"Cheila, what the hell are you talking about?" asked Salamander now back in his normal voice that would send shivers down most people's spines just from listening to it.

"Cheila was Subject 8." stated Wendy as a hurt expression formed on her face as she said this.

"No she isn't Wendy and it would be wise if you stopped trying to figure out who she was. So are you going to help me obtain Fujimoto if I promise to not take Makarov's magic?" asked Salamander who was glad that Wendy was wrong because he was slightly afraid that she might actually know.

"So Cheila is not dead and is actually still on her trip around the world?" asked Wendy with a hopeful expression on her face.

"Probably Wendy so are you going to help?" asked Salamander one more time since he would really rather not have to hurt the girl that he always viewed as his little sister.

"Yes I will if you promise to not take away Makarov's magic." replied Wendy as a faint smile spread across her features at the news that Chelia was still alive and that she was also helping Natsu at least one more time.

"Wendy what are you doing?" asked Erza in complete denial that Wendy would actually be helping Natsu out.

"What I should have done when I learned that Subject 8 was Natsu's mate." replied Wendy as she glared at Erza.

"How does that change anything?" asked Erza.

"It's a dragon slayer thing that you'll never understand Erza, **VERNIER!** With that you should be able to keep up with Jellal, Natsu, and I will make sure that Erza doesn't interfere." said Wendy as she then launched herself at Erza who wasn't expecting Wendy to charge her like that and started hitting her before she was ready.

"Time for round two Jellal." said Salamander as he went after Jellal and could instantly see the results of Wendy's spell. Because now Jellal actually had to parry most of the attack and blocked those that he knew he actually could without taking any damage.

Makarov still stood in the same spot as before and couldn't help but feel worse than he already did because now not only was Natsu fighting them but so was Wendy. And it would appear that the main reason was due to Wendy being a dragon slayer along with Natsu's mate dying, which made Makarov wonder if the other dragon slayers would have done the same thing if they had stayed any longer. And if that was the real reason that Laxus decided to withdraw before it literally tore the guild in half, if so Makarov would have to thank Laxus later for doing that.

"Wendy you need to stop this right now!" demanded Erza as she blocked one of Wendy's punches with the flat side of her sword.

"Sorry Erza but I can't do that, just like you can't for some reason let Natsu do this. When it's obvious that he needs to let his rage out before it spills over to innocent civilians, or is that what you want Erza?" asked Wendy as she flipped over Erza and tried to land a kick to the back of her head. That was once again blocked by Erza's sword that she was only using for defense since she really didn't want to attack Wendy.

"I obviously don't want that to happen because Natsu would then become a dark mage and have to go to jail." argued Erza as she continued to block all of Wendy's attacks.

"Then you need to step aside Erza because you are dealing with things that you know nothing about. And if you don't we might lose Natsu forever." yelled Wendy as she continued her assault on Erza trying to find a weak spot in her defense.

"That is what I am trying to do Wendy by not letting him continue to go around killing dark mages. How can you not see that this will only end badly for him?" shouted Erza who was getting angry about everything.

"Because what you're trying to do is only going to make it worse for him. You've already forced him to attack his friends when that was the last thing he wanted to do Erza, or could you not see that all he wants to do is stop the pain that he's feeling right now? I guess not because all you did was add more to it by making him hurt the last people he might consider family." shouted Wendy who had now lost most of her composure and was attacking Erza with more ferocity than anyone thought possible for her.

"We didn't make him do that Wendy!" shouted Erza now finding it surprisingly hard to keep Wendy from landing a blow on her.

"Yes you did Erza when you stopped him from getting one of the people responsible for killing his mate!" shouted Wendy as she finally landed a punch to Erza's side.

"Wendy stop this right now otherwise I am going to start fighting back." declared Erza as she glared at the sky dragon slayer in front of her.

"Are you not going to get in Natsu's way Erza?" asked Wendy as she glared right back at her.

"You know that I can't do that Wendy." stated Erza.

"Then the same goes for me Erza because I will not fail Natsu like I did for the past four years." stated Wendy right before she charged Erza again. This time having to dodge attacks from Erza who was now actually fighting back. This lasted for five whole minutes, which ended with Wendy now having a few cuts scattered across her body, while Erza on the other hand was pretty much not much worse form when they started this fight.

"It's over Wendy." stated Erza as she stood over Wendy.

"No it isn't Erza, and now I wish that I hadn't healed you twice today." said Wendy as she glared up at Erza.

"Well you did and now it's your loss." said Erza as she hit Wendy on the back of the head, knocking the other woman out cold. But right as that happened a roar that reminded all of the Fairy Tail members that could hear it, of Acnologia right before he tried to destroy them on Tenrou Island. The next thing Erza knew she had to duck something flying at her, which happened to be Jellal who was obviously losing his fight with Natsu who turned out to be the source of the roar.

"You'll pay for that Erza!" shouted Salamander as he appeared in front her and started to swing away at her in his blind rage using whatever element's that randomly coated his fists. Erza tried her best to fend off his attacks with the appropriate armors but he was changing them so fast while also having at least two different ones coating his fist each time he swung at her. Luckily his attacks were sloppier than what he normally would be doing, which only meant that Erza was able to dodge a few of them but as the fight went on that was no longer the case.

"Natsu you need to stop before you seriously hurt her!" shouted Makarov as he watched Natsu continue to man handle Erza who was taking more and more damage with every passing second.

"That's the point Makarov, because she hurt Wendy who is still a member of your guild! Who Erza is supposed to protect with her life, but she would much rather protect that piece of shit Fujimoto and now she is receiving the consequences of her actions." said Salamander after landing a punch to Erza's face that sent her to the ground and making her no longer able to fight.

"You're correct Natsu; she should have never done that to Wendy. But Wendy was just trying to help you which resulted in them fighting." explained Makarov.

"I am not Natsu, I thought that you all would have gotten that out of your heads after I started to take away magic. I can see now that you guys will never get it through your thick heads so now I need to take away Titania's wings so she'll never bother me again or hurt anyone that I still care about." said Salamander as he stood over Erza with a feral grin on his lips.

"Salamander you don't need to do that, Wendy is only knocked out and I'll never call you that other name again." begged Makarov as he watched Salamander look at him while still grinning.

"I know that Wendy will be alright Makarov and I truly couldn't care less what you guys call me as long as you stay out of my way. But once again you are forgetting what my objective has been this whole time." stated Salamander as he turned to Jellal as he smiled at him wickedly.

"Natsu this isn't you." said Erza weakly as Salamander picked her up.

"You can keep believing that Erza for as long as you want but that doesn't change the fact that the Natsu you all think still resides in here died when his mate died." said Salamander as he inspected her bruised and bloody body.

"That's wrong because you still protected Wendy." coughed out Erza, which slightly shocked Salamander.

"So Jellal are you finally going to give me what I want now that there is no one to help you out of your sticky situation. And you've also seen that I am not messing around when I say that I will take away someone's magic." stated Salamander as he got his palm ready to put the seal on Erza that would make her no longer a mage, while ignoring her last comment.

Rather than saying anything they watched Jellal cast his barrier around himself as he tried to come up with a plan of how to get out of there alive.

"Well it looks like I got my answer. And didn't I tell you Erza that if it was ever reversed he would just think about himself, because that is the kind of man that he is. Always using others to get what he wants which would right now be his life since things are looking pretty grim for your group." said Salamander as he held Erza so she could see what Jellal was doing.

"Jellal what are you doing?" whispered Erza with a hurt expression.

"Sorry Erza but we can't stop him." said Jellal as he averted his gaze from her as the barrier around Fujimoto disappeared and the man booked it out of there. They were all surprised that Natsu wasn't instantly in pursuit of him like they thought he would be.

"Are you just going to let him go Salamander?" asked the Chairman who was surprisingly still here after everything that had been happening. But that was probably due to the fact that he had his own impressive barriers around him that rivaled Jellal and probably surpassed them.

"Don't worry chairman I won't let him get away, and chasing them down makes it oh so much more enjoyable when I finally get them." replied Salamander as he still held Erza.

"Then would you please set Erza down?" asked Makarov.

"I don't know Makarov; because of you guys this turned into a big fiasco that otherwise would have taken a few minutes. But I guess I did get two new types of magic so it wasn't a complete waste of my time, but on the other hand I still think that you guys need to be punished for getting in my way." said Salamander as he scratched his chin with his other hand.

"Natsu you've already gotten what you wanted so none of this is needed anymore." stated Makarov already seeing where Natsu was going with this.

"I disagree with you on that Makarov, so I should probably take away Erza's magic now." stated Salamander as he grinned at her.

"Natsu please don't do this I am begging you." shouted Makarov as Natsu once again got ready to put his seal onto someone like he already did twice today.

"You know what that doesn't seem to me like a good enough punishment considering that I really wouldn't be taking anything away from her since her magic is so weak it can't even do anything against me. So how about I take something else from her, something that she obviously cares about and also just so happens to be someone that has been bothering me lately." said Salamander as he grinned at Jellal with a devilish look in his eyes.

"And guess what I am actually allowed to kill this man since he's a dark mage, doesn't that sound like a better punishment than taking away her magic?" asked Salamander as he looked at Makarov and Erza who were both too shocked to answer right away.

"I am going to take your stunned silence as a yes Salamander that is so much better than hurting Erza and making her no longer a mage." said Salamander as he dropped Erza to the ground.

"Natsu please don't do this." begged Erza with tears forming in her eyes.

"And what would I get out of this for sparing his life Erza?" asked Salamander with a smirk on his lips.

"I don't know Natsu, but I am begging you to please don't do this." replied Erza not knowing what she could even offer him since all he seemed interested in is killing dark mages.

"I'll think about it Erza since that coward already took off as soon as you distracted me. But if I do run into him during my travels he's as good as dead, speaking of things soon to be dead I have a Fujimoto to most likely find crying in a corner begging for his life." said Salamander as he turned and walked away from them never looking back.

Erza started to cry because the two men that she thought she could always rely on showed her today that it was not the case anymore. Natsu was now completely driven by revenge and was willing to burn all the bonds that he had made over the years to obtain it, but she couldn't completely blame him for that because of what he went through for the past four years as he waited for them to rescue him which never happened. But what Jellal just showed her hurt the most because he proved everything that Natsu had been saying about him today was in fact true. He didn't have a good reason like Natsu for not being the person that Erza thought she knew.

"I was hoping to listen to Fujimoto scream, but I guess there was already enough of that thanks to you guys trying to stop the Salamander." said the Chairman with a smile as he left the room.

"Can you walk Erza?" asked Makarov as he was holding Wendy in his arms.

"I think so Master." replied Erza as she stopped crying and got up.

"Good, let's head home." said Makarov with a frown on his face since this day turned out to be a complete failure like Gildarts predicted it would be. But luckily Laxus's group was there to prevent it from being much worse, which now made Makarov start wondering what they would do now.

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it and are fine with where I decided to take this confrontation to. I am thinking about having the other guilds make their appearances in some way shape or form in the next chapter and I am curious if that is something that you would want to read. Because if not I can keep it focused mainly on Natsu and Fairy Tail. So as always feel free to leave me a review and I'll try to respond back to you as soon as possible.**

 **Until the next Chapter**

 **Digem Out!**


	10. The Sad Truth

Ch 10: The Sad Truth

 **In the basement of Rising Tide:**

"If I could only get these cuffs off of me we would be out of here in a matter of seconds." said Natsu as he tried to break the cuffs against the wall of his cell.

"You'd still have to deal with those chains that are draining you Natsu." she said with a slight smile, since Natsu was still trying to escape even after being here for more than three years.

"I'll worry about that problem once I get there." replied Natsu as he continued to try and break his cuffs.

"Natsu can I ask you a question?" she asked slightly nervous.

"Shoot, it's not like I have anywhere else to be." he replied while giving her one of his usual grins and then going back to trying to break his cuffs.

"Did you ever think about having a family of your own?" she asked as Natsu stopped smash his cuffs and thought about it for a few moments.

"I already have one, Fairy Tail is the best family I could have ever asked for." replied Natsu once again giving her his usual grin.

"That's not what I was talking about, I meant do you want to get married someday and have a kid or maybe even kids with someone?" she explained with a slight blush, as she watched Natsu ponder this question as if his life depended on it.

"Definitely." was his simple reply before he went back to smashing his cuffs against the wall.

"That's it, your response is only definitely?" she asked as she raised one of her eyebrows at the dragon slayer.

"Yep, did you want me to go into more detail?" he asked back as he stopped trying to break himself free.

"I would really like it if you gave more than just a one word reply." she said with a warm smile.

"Well I would have to say that I have always wanted to have a family of my own that I can come home to and tell them about what adventure I had just come back from. Just like Igneel did with me, but I would make sure that I was always there for them whenever they needed me. I know that Igneel didn't have a choice about it, but it is definitely something that I would never put my family through." said Natsu with a sad smile.

"You didn't say how many kids you would like to have." she stated as she continued to smile at how confident Natsu was about not leaving his family once he had them.

"As many as my future wife would allow." replied Natsu with a little grin.

"That is not a usual answer." she pointed out still smiling at him.

"I would have said ten because I want a really large family. But Erza and Mira said that asking that of a woman is too much, especially since I wouldn't have to experience the pains of child birth. Oh and they decided to let me know what that would feel like by beating me up after I told them that." said Natsu with a bigger grin as he remember the fond memory that seemed to be a life time ago.

"They were right about it being too much to ask of a woman, but I can see why you would want a large family. I was alone for a while in my past and that is not something that I would ever want my own child to feel while they are growing up." she replied as she admired his happy expression.

"When Igneel left me I was completely lost, but luckily Gramps found me and brought me back to Fairy Tail. Where it felt like I gained a whole new family that had tones of brothers and sister to mess around with, which is something that I would like to let my own kids experience." he said now having a smile instead of his grin.

"You could just have one kid and then just take them to Fairy Tail." she stated with a grin.

"I could but what if there is no one close to their age, which could easily happen. But if we have a few kids that won't ever be a problem since they can always be with each other even if we have to go somewhere else for a while." replied Natsu.

"We?" she asked with a huge blush.

"Oh I didn't mean it that way, I meant that me and my future wife." said Natsu now having his own slight blush as he turned away from her.

"I was only joking Natsu, but it definitely would be the most unique story of a couple ever getting together. I bet we would be the only ones that could say they fell in love with each other while being tortured every day." she said with a sad smile, knowing that the likelihood of either of them getting out was slim.

"It would, which is why I need to make sure that we both get out of here." said Natsu not even thinking about what he just said and went back to trying to break his cuffs.

"How are you still so happy and positive after being in a place like this for almost four years?" she asked quietly, forgetting that Natsu was a dragon slayer and could easily hear her.

"Because I have to save you like I promised I would, and hopefully my friends will come and get us anytime now." said Natsu while he continued to try and break his cuffs, but was only scratching them.

"I forgot that you could still hear that even with you making all of that noise." she stated while shaking her head.

"That's the tenth time that you've done that, at least this one wasn't about how good I look while sweating." replied Natsu as he gave her a quick grin as he continued to try and break free.

"Shut up Natsu, you said that you would forget about that." she said in a slightly embarrassed tone.

"HAHAHAHA I did but you're so cute when you're embarrassed. So what was with the questions about having a family?" asked Natsu as he still tried to remove his cuffs.

"Just something that popped into my head recently Natsu." she replied with a smile while putting a hand on her stomach. Wondering if she will ever have the courage to tell him what they did to him after he passed out that one time and how because of it she got another reason to keep on surviving in this hell hole. She was determined to survive if not for herself then for their kid that she was determined to protect just like Natsu was trying to do to her. So that Natsu could have the family that he always wanted once they got through this.

"You think of some of the weirdest things." said Natsu while chuckling to himself.

 **Inside of a cave in a remote mountain range:**

"If only I knew about it sooner, I would have tried to get out of there even if it killed me." Salamander thought as he sat up with a frown. Angry that the few hours that he did get of sleep were only constant reminders of his biggest failure in life, one that he could never make up for. So he would do the only logical thing to do and that was make sure that no one else would ever have to go through what they did.

"Why didn't I tell you about my feelings for you sooner?" asked Salamander as he looked at the sun that was setting in the distance.

"Well you can't change the past, isn't that right Fujimoto?" asked Salamander as he turned around to look at the man that was chained to the ceiling of the cave and hanging over a fire while also wearing magic suppressing cuffs.

"Just kill me already." begged Fujimoto whose feet where severely burned because of him not being able to keep his legs up for as long as he was being dangled there.

"Now why would I do that Fujimoto, I had to endure four years of things that would make this look like child's play. I would actually leave you hooked up to that magic draining device but we learned that you are not strong enough to be left hooked up to it for more than one day." stated Salamander with a grin as he increased the intensity of the fire and watched Fujimoto try to keep his feet out of it.

"Please just kill me." begged Fujimoto.

"You are surprisingly weak Fujimoto, it's only been two days and you are already begging for me to kill you." said Salamander as he got rid of the fire.

"I already know that you are going to kill me." replied Fujimoto as he hung there and enjoyed the lack of the fire that was there for the last seven hours.

"True, but I always knew that those bastards at Rising Tide where planning on killing me after they had their fun and broke me. But that didn't stop me from trying to get out of there." stated Salamander as he unhooked Fujimoto suddenly, causing him to drop onto his severely burned feet and causing the man to scream out in pain.

"Are you ready for some of the things that I learned from them during my long visit?" asked Salamander while standing over Fujimoto with a sinister grin.

"Why haven't you asked me anything yet?" asked Fujimoto hoping to distract Salamander so that the pain he knew he would eventually be feeling would take longer to actually come.

"Simple Fujimoto, because I know that in probably less than a day you'll be telling me everything that you can remember just to get a few seconds of no pain. I myself was tempted to start giving out information after just the first month of imprisonment at Rising Tide, but luckily for me the part of me that is dragon wouldn't let me possibly bring pain to those that I still considered family. But you don't have that part do you Fujimoto?" asked Salamander as he pinned Fujimoto against a wall of the cave and then staked him to it with iron rods curtesy of Gajeel's magic. Causing the man to scream out in pain as his shoulders and calves just had rods stabbed through them.

"I think we should start out with lighting for the first hour, then some quick healing because I can't have you dying on me just yet. Then we'll move on to the poison that I am really starting to like, it is probably my weakest element in power. But just a little of it causes more pain than most mages can handle, not to mention that it is constantly weakening you as time goes on." said Salamander as he cracked his knuckles and neck. Fujimoto just let out a small whimper, knowing that he was soon going to be in more pain than he could handle. But unfortunately Salamander wasn't going to let him have a simple death like he wished for.

 **At Fairy Tail:**

"Judging from all the happy faces I can only assume that Natsu will be joining all of us any minute now." said Gildarts sarcastically as most of the guild gathered for a mandatory meeting.

"Your jokes aren't needed Gildarts." said Makarov as he glared at his ace.

"Sorry Makarov, I was just hoping to lighten the mood before I decided to tell you that I called it that your mission would end horribly." replied Gildarts with a drunken grin, which surprised no one since he pretty much was drunk all of the time now.

"Yes you did Gidarts, apparently there was a lot more to this situation then we ever could have known about. And that is one of the reasons that I called this meeting, the other reason is because I can no longer keep some of the other guilds at bay anymore. They want answers just as much as we do since Natsu has helped them numerous of times in his past and they want to return the favor now and help him out." said Makarov with a faint smile.

"Master I don't want to say this, but I have to agree with the Salamander about Natsu being dead. I mean look at what he did to us, Natsu would have never done any of that." pointed out Grey with a frown.

"Grey it's thanks to Natsu still being in there that we are all still standing here today. We know that he has death magic since he was able to actually kill Jackal once and for all since they have that weird device that brings him back even after he blows himself up." said Meredy with a serious expression.

"What's girl Natsu even doing here, aren't you supposed to be on the run with the rest of your guild?" asked Gildarts with a goofy grin since Meredy had the same hair color as Natsu.

"My old guild disbanded, and I am no longer classified as a dark mage. So I joined Fairy Tail knowing that you guys would still be going after Natsu, and I want to help since he knows where Ultear is." said Meredy as she glared at Gildarts who only continued to grin back at her.

"I thought that she died during the eclipse gate fiasco?" asked Lucy.

"That's what I thought until Natsu mentioned that she might have information that he could use." replied Meredy with a frown. Worried at what Natsu might do to Ultear to get that information, since it was proven earlier that so far the only line he wasn't willing to cross was murdering people who were not dark mages. But that didn't help Meredy at all since Ultear was still might be classified as a dark mage.

"Maybe he was just using that to get to you." suggested Levy.

"Nope Salamander never lied during that whole time with us." stated Gajeel with a frown.

"How the hell could you know that?" asked Cana, since Natsu was pretty much a completely different person now.

"I can because this new Salamander still has a lot of the same traits as the old Salamander that used to be a member here. But now he just so happens to have let his dragon side out all of the time, meaning that nothing will stop him from achieving his goals." explained Gajeel.

"You dragon slayers need to give all of us an explanation about what's going on. But before that I need to settle this little discussion about Ultear, and yes she is still alive she is unfortunately an old lady now." said Grey with a frown.

"How do you know that Grey?" asked Meredy with pleading eyes locked on him.

"Because I saw her as we were heading back to Fairy Tail after the Grand Magic Games all those years agon." answered Grey with his head down.

"Then why didn't you tell me, you knew how much she meant to me?" asked Meredy now glaring daggers at the ice mage.

"Because you told us about the letter she left you and I could tell that she wanted to be left alone and it was better that you thought that she was dead." replied Grey looking at Meredy with a sad face.

"Good now we know there is an old dark mage for Salamander to kill after he gets information out of her." stated Gildarts, causing Meredy and Grey to look at the man with shocked expressions. Both of them knew that was a possibility but didn't think someone would actually say it so casually like Gildarts just did.

"Dad could you please just go back to drinking." hissed Cana after hitting him a few times, which did nothing to the crash mage.

"Sure thing Honey, but I just don't want to let anyone have false hope like they did before the last mission." said Gildarts before he started to chug straight from a new bottle.

"Gildarts is right about us not having any false hope." stated Makarov, which resulted in the guild all having shocked expressions on their faces.

"Now let me explain, yes Salamander is not the Natsu that we all knew and loved. But he's still in there like Meredy and Gajeel said, which means that we have to come up with a new strategy of how to bring him back out of the darkness that he's currently walking in." explained Makarov with a determined look on his face.

"Gramps are you really sure that's a good idea?" asked Laxus with a frown.

"How could you say that Laxus, Natsu is a part of Fairy Tail and we never give up on family." said Lisanna as she glared at him.

"I know that Lisanna but look at what happened to us the last time we tried to bring him back. I also know that if this was the other way around at all Natsu wouldn't be resting until he brought one of us back, but the situation is different since it's Natsu." replied Laxus as his frown became even more pronounced.

"How so Laxus?" asked Lisanna as she continued to glare at the man who seemed like he didn't want to help Natsu. Even after Natsu was one of the main people that brought Laxus out of his own darkness all those years ago.

"Because of him being a dragon slayer and what happened to him at Rising Tide." said Wendy in an angry tone that most of the guild didn't even know she had.

"I think you three might need to fill in the rest of the guild about this whole dragon slayer business." said Makarov as the rest of the guild nodded in agreement.

"Well like I told you when we thought we had him captured, we are extremely lucky that Salamander is somehow able to focus all of his rage and anger just at dark mages. Also it's a complete miracle that he can actually talk with any of us at all, most of the time we become completely overtaken by the grief and destroy whatever is in front of us." explained Gajeel with frown as he pulled Levy closer to him. Making sure that she was still there with him and completely fine.

"I think you left some stuff out Gajeel." state Lucy, who couldn't help but have a faint smile as she looked at Gajeel holding Levy that way.

"He forgot to mention that Subject 8 was Natsu's mate and he had to watch her die while he could do nothing." said Laxus as his magic flared up and caused the people around him to back off. All of the members not wanting to accidentally get shocked by his lightning as he tried to control his anger and magic.

"Not only that but I figured out that she was somehow pregnant with his child, making what Natsu is doing now completely remarkable." included Wendy as she wiped away a few tears that escaped from her eyes.

"You can't be serious." stated Gajeel as he looked at Wendy, wanting to confirm what she just said.

"I really wish I wasn't Gajeel, and we can eliminate Lamia Scale from the list of possible guilds that she could have come from." said Wendy with a frown.

"Salamander is one strong son of a bitch." said Gajeel as he shook his head and continued to hold Levy.

"Would you care to explain Gajeel?" asked Levy as she looked up at him, while enjoying how he was holding her right now even though they were still in the guild. One of the places that for some reason Gajeel didn't like showing much affection for her even though they were together.

"Sure Shrimp, for a dragon or slayer to see either one of those things should have made them a crazed killing machine. But even after seeing both of them Salamander is still only killing dark mages, meaning that he has more will power and determination than most actuall dragons do." explained Gajeel.

"I think it should be said that I won't be helping you guys at all if you are trying to stop him." declared Wendy, shocking everyone with her determined look.

"That goes for me and Levy too." said Gajeel without even asking Levy about the decision.

"Sorry Gramps but I am also with them on this, and I have a feeling that you know why we're doing this." said Laxus as he looked at his grandfather.

"Yes I do Laxus and thank you for calling that retreat last time." replied Makarov which shocked everyone else but Erza who unfortunately had to go up against Wendy last time.

"What the hell is going on, I thought that you three would be the ones wanting to get him back the most?" shouted Grey as he glared at the three dragon slayers.

"We do Stripper, but we also know that if we go with you guys it will most likely turn out worse for everyone involved. And because of that we are going to be going after Salamander on our own, which will allow us to handle it better than you guys who can never truly understand what he lost." growled Gajeel, who wanted nothing more than to attack Grey and beat him until he had to stay in the infirmary for a month.

"Natsu lost his wife and kid, I know that's terrible but how in the world does that mean you guys can't help us out?" asked Grey, who wasn't going to stop until he got his answers.

"It's a dragon slayer thing." growled Laxus as little lightning bolts actually speed around his body.

"That's not good enough of an answer." shouted Grey.

"Grey if you guys happened to fight Natsu again then there is a really good chance that we would start fighting with him. Is that what you wanted to hear, and since we know that you guys are probably going to get into a fight with him we've decided to not be there because we don't want to tear this guild apart more than it already is." shouted Wendy as she glared at Grey.

"What the hell are you talking about, why would you guys side with Natsu?" asked Grey now completely confused.

"Because it's a dragon slayer thing Grey, and we would be compelled to help him out on his mission for revenge on those that destroyed his world. I almost started to help him last time, which is why we all left when we did because if we hadn't then you all would have been up against four dragon slayers." explained Laxus after calming down a bit.

"That's ridiculous, can't you guys fight it?" asked Grey as he looked at the three.

"To a certain extent we can, we wouldn't do anything that we normally wouldn't do. For example we wouldn't start killing dark mages with him, well at least I wouldn't." said Wendy as she quickly glanced at Gajeel and Laxus who remained quite.

"I still don't really get this." stated Lucy with a confused look.

"The best way that I can explain it is that now that we know what he went through a part of me is telling me that I have to help him. I guess you would call it my inner dragon, it's telling me to help him so that none of us would have to go through what he did. And it is also telling me to do this so that he can die in peace knowing that he avenged his mate and hatchling." elaborated Wendy with a frown.

"I still don't believe that you three would turn against us." said Lucy as she looked at the three of them.

"Sorry Lucy but we would if another fight broke out with Natsu and we were there." replied Wendy as she looked away from her.

"I don't believe you Wendy." stated Lucy.

"You should Lucy because Wendy did it last time and I was the one that had to fight her." said Erza with a huge frown and looked like she hadn't gotten any rest for the past two days.

"And in doing so Master still has his magic." growled Wendy as she glared at Erza.

"And thank you for that Wendy." replied Erza with a faint smile that vanished as soon as it came.

"Wait a minute Master almost lost his magic?" asked Cana in disbelief.

"HAHAHAHAHA oh that would have been something, I bet most of you would have blindly charged out to try and make Natsu pay for doing that." chuckled Gildarts after downing who knows what number of bottle of booze it was for the day.

"Gildarts that's enough out of you, and he didn't do it and he won't take anyone else's magic either." said Makarov as he glared at Gildarts.

"How can you be so sure about that Master?" asked Lisanna with a very concerned look on her face since she didn't want Natsu doing that to anyone in Fairy Tail.

"Because the Chairman thankfully said that after our last encounter with Natsu that he could only do that to dark mages. And the last thing Natsu wants to be is the thing that he's decided to hunt down and kill." answered Makarov while having a slight frown on his face.

"So what are we going to do since none of the dragon slayers are going to help us in trying to bring back Natsu?" asked Lucy.

"We won't be doing nothing Lucy, we just won't be doing it without any of you for your own safety. Since we know that it will most likely end in a fight if you guys do confront him." said Wendy as she glared at her.

"No it won't!" argued Lucy.

"Maybe not for you bunny girl but others aren't going to be able to hold back after what you guys forced him to do. Isn't that right Stripper and Titania?" asked Gageel with a smirk.

"Dam right I'm going to fight that flame brain, look what he did to his family. Not to mention Warren still hasn't recovered yet, and now I also learned that idiot almost took Master's magic." replied Grey angrily.

"You all did that to yourselves, and Warren should have told Gramps it was too risky. Especially after what happened to Cobra, and what happened to the rest of Crime Sorciere?" asked Laxus as noticed that he hadn't seen the rest of Meredy's old guild.

"Jellal fled like a coward and the rest don't want anything to do with us." replied Erza with a frown.

"Can't really blame them." stated Laxus while shaking his head.

"Okay I am sick and tired of you guys saying we did this to ourselves, you sound just like Salamander when he kept calming that he didn't want to do this. But guess what he did, and being a dragon slayer isn't a good enough excuse for what he did." said Grey, which instantly caused the other three dragon slayers to growl at him.

"Grey shut your god damn mouth before I beat you harder than Natsu ever has." said Laxus through clenched teeth.

"I think I might join in on that." growled Gajeel.

"And I'll just sit back and enjoy the show, oh and afterwards I won't heal you at all." stated Wendy as she glared at Grey.

"Alright calm down everyone." said Makarov.

"Sorry Master but I can't be the only one that thinks this way." stated Grey.

"Yes Grey, which is why we aren't going to associate with you morons as you go and get yourself killed." growled Laxus.

"Grey just try and think about the worst pain you've ever felt. Now imagine feeling that every second for the rest of your life, because that is exactly what Natsu is going through right now. And it's the reason that most dragons and slayers go crazy, but then again Natsu might literally not feel pain anymore after being tortured for four years." said Wendy hoping that she might get them to slightly understand what's going on better.

"That still doesn't excuse him for doing all of this." said Grey now in a calmer tone.

"Grey, think if you had to experience losing your parents and Ur over and over again." said Lucy, who now felt even worse about what Natsu was going through.

"I don't think I could handle that." replied Grey quietly with a frown.

"But Natsu is somehow." said Lucy with a slight smile at Natsu still overcoming insurmountable odds.

"Not only that Grey, but he constantly warned you all exactly what would happen if you tried to stop him. But you didn't listen to him and he did exactly what he said he would, actually he didn't take away Erza's magic like he threatened. And he also didn't take away Gramps, which is why we are still putting the blame of what happened to you guys on all of you." stated Laxus as he looked at the members Natsu easily took down during their last confrontation.

"They're right about this Grey; he gave us more than enough warning but we all thought that he wouldn't go through with it. Mainly because we didn't know what he is still going through, this brings me to the big question for you three. Is there any way of fixing him of this, or at least lessening the pain that he's feeling?" asked Makarov as he looked at the dragon slayers.

"Sorry but I am still learning about this stuff since a dragon didn't raise me." replied Laxus.

"My old man only warned me to never let it happen to me, and made sure that I knew to fight until my last breath to prevent it from happening. And I can only assume that Salamander was told the same thing by Igneel, which is only making this that much harder on him." replied Gajeel with a frown.

"The only way for it to end is for Natsu to die, at least that is what Grandine told me about this subject." answered Wendy as she almost started to cry, as the rest of the guild got quieter since everything seemed to get worse for them just from hearing this.

"Are you sure that there isn't any other way Wendy?" asked Makarov with a hopeful expression.

"There could be but I don't know of any sure fire ways to fix this Master." replied Wendy with a frown.

"So you know of some slim chances?" asked Makarov who was willing to grab onto anything that he could.

"Yes but they are extremely low, I would have to say that they are one in a million." answered Wendy.

"Wendy please just tell us what they are." begged Lucy.

"One is that if he can find him another mate, but that would require him to be one of the few that can actually have multiple mates. And if you couldn't guess that is extremely rare for us, meaning that you really shouldn't put much hope into it. The other one that has a slim chance of working is for Natsu believing that he's accomplished his goal of killing all dark mages, so he could finally be at peace since he's avenged his mate." explained Wendy as she looked at the disappointed faces of the rest of the guild.

"HAHAHAHAHA looks like you are going to have to find a girl that wants to date a mass dark mage killer. Or are you going to start killing dark mages to bring Natsu back Makarov?" asked Gildarts with a big smirk on his face.

"We will not be killing anyone Gildarts, and even if we could find someone that likes Natsu. It doesn't mean that she'll be his mate, if my understanding of this whole mate thing is correct." said Makarov as he looked over at Wendy who nodded in agreement.

"There could be another way right?" asked Levy.

"Possibly but I have no idea how you would go about finding out a new cure or how you plan to test it." replied Wendy.

"So what are we going to do Master?" asked Erza, hoping that he had a solution to this terrible situation.

"I think we should go back to trying to figuring out everything that happened to him, while also looking for a new solution to a slayer losing their mate. And we will do this until we've talked to all of the other guilds, because like I said earlier they've wanted to help for a while now. I didn't want to involve them at first, but after what we just went through I think that we could use all the help that we can get." answered Makarov with a thoughtful expression.

"Alright, more people that will think Natsu only needs to be beaten to bring him back. We might need to get a bigger infirmary if you aren't careful Makarov." said Gildarts with a grin, but was ignored by most of the guild.

"Are we going to still try and figure out who Subject 8 is?" asked Lucy while looking at Makarov then the dragon slayers.

"I think we should, because otherwise we won't have a clear picture of what happened to the both of them." replied Makarov with a frown.

"Salamander went to long lengths to hide her true identity, so I would suggest that we leave it at what we already know." said Gajeel, with the other two dragon slayers nodding their heads in agreement.

"But what about her family and friends, they deserve to know what happened to her." stated Lucy.

"I can only assume that they don't care about her or have already assumed the worse. So there is no reason to possibly make it worse for them by giving out the info that her final moments were in that hell hole." said Laxus.

"It isn't our place to withhold that information from them Laxus, so we will still try and find out the Identity of her." said Makarov.

"You're right Gramps, I would say that decision goes to Natsu and he's chosen to try and keep her name unassociated with Rising Tide completely. And I can see why he's doing that, no one want's that place being thought of when someone thinks about you or says your name." argued Laxus.

"That may be true Laxus, and we can discuss about it once we figure out who Subject 8 is." replied Makarov.

"Master you said something about the other guilds wanting to help, what did you mean by that?" asked Erza with a frown since she believed that this should remain Fairy Tail business only.

"Most of the other guilds will be sending representatives here in a few days where we'll fill them in on what's happening and what they can do to help." replied Makarov as he noticed her face almost becoming a scowl at hearing this.

"Master this is Fairy Tail business and should stay that way." declared Grey.

"I have to agree with him on that Master." said Erza.

"Unfortunately this isn't really Fairy Tail business since Natsu is no longer a member as the Chairman pointed out. And everyone that is coming are Natsu's friends that only want to help just like the rest of us, so how is it fair to tell them off like you want to Grey?" asked Makarov as he looked at him waiting for an answer, which he knew that Grey couldn't give him.

"Fine, but I can already tell that this is going to be hectic and also extremely boring for those that know what's going on right now." said Grey with a frown.

"Then you don't have to be here right away Grey. You can show up later in the evening when we will hopefully be coming up with new plans." stated Makarov.

"I already have the best plan possible everyone. Let's just let Natsu keep doing what he's been doing for the last month. I mean we weren't doing shit when he was being tortured by them so why the hell are we doing something now. Especially when the other dragons slayers have made it perfectly clear that he needs to be doing this or he'll become crazier than he already is." said Gildarts as he got up from the bar.

"We are doing this now Gildarts because we actually know that Natsu is in trouble." stated Makarov.

"Cut the crap Makarov, you knew that he was in trouble when he left without so much as a note to even Happy. You just don't want to admit that we all should have been searching for him years ago and now feel guilty about the results of that decision. Because I know for sure that I regret listening to you when I came back and found out that he went missing." replied Gildarts as he made his way to the exit. Makarov didn't have a response for this since he did in fact feel guilty about all of this happening under his watch.

"That was probably my second biggest mistake in my life and I know that I will feel guilty about it until the day I die." said Gildarts before leaving the guild that was completely silent because of his comment.

 **Small village in the middle of nowhere two days later:**

An elderly lady could be seeing going about her morning routine like normal. She stopped by the open air market and converses with some of the merchants there as she buys the necessities for the day at a lower price than most since she is a regular. As she walks through the town she is occasionally stopped by someone only to be asked for her advice on all sorts of thing. But it sometimes was just for a friendly chat about what's going on in the village or maybe just mindless conversations about almost anything.

It is now ten in the morning when the elderly lady is finally returning to her home, which is actually outside of the small village so that she can be by herself. Since she really didn't want to cause anyone else any trouble and actually enjoyed the solitude that her location provided for her. But it would seem that today she wasn't going to be getting that peace and quiet she wanted.

As she reached for the knob she noticed that her lock had been completely melted away and was now a flat piece of metal on the ground. Dreading that this day would eventually come she slipped out a knife that she always had on her and crept into her small home. As she slowly made her way in, she noticed right away that nothing seemed to be disturbed at all or missing. This confused her since she expected the whole place to be trashed if they came looking for answers, and if that wasn't the cause for someone breaking into her house. She thought that some of her possessions would be stolen at least.

"It's about time you returned." said someone in a cloak as they came out of her study.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked as she pointed her knife at the intruder.

"HAHAHAHA do you really want to be pointing that at me?" asked the intruder that she could now definitely tell was a male by his figure and voice.

"Yes, since I still don't know who you are. And I do know how to use it even though I look old." she replied.

"You aren't supposed to be that old, I'd actually guess that you would still have a great body if you didn't use Last Ages all of those years ago." said the stranger as he took a seat in her living room as if he was an old friend of hers.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." denied the woman now feeling extremely nervous about this stranger.

"Sure you do Zalty, which I think you might actually look really good as an old man." he replied while grinning at her, which only made her more cautious of him.

"Okay who the hell are you?" she asked no longer caring that he might be there to kill her.

"You know that really hurts Ultear, I came here to say hi and get some information and possibly a small partnership." responded the stranger as his grin got bigger.

"I have no idea who you are since you have your magic completely hidden. And I won't agree to anything until I know who you are and what it is that you want." stated Ultear as she glared at the man that somehow knew all about her past. More than most people actually would, which made her wonder who this stranger was.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you Ultear, and even if you did feel my magic it wouldn't help you at all in identifying me." stated the stranger as he picked up a book and started to thumb through it. This allowed Ultear to see his outfit that was under his cloak, but she couldn't recall ever seeing it before but happened to realize that it was mainly red and black making him look even more threatening than before.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, so why don't you let be the judge of that." stated Ultear, hoping that he would oblige her curiosity and allow her to get a better understanding of him.

"Okay but you have to agree to stay here and at least talk with me afterwards." he replied while setting the book down on her coffee table.

"I promise, so let me see." she said while taking a seat in the other chair.

"Here goes noting." replied the stranger as he stopped hiding his magical presence. Ultear instantly regretted getting this stranger to do this, it was one of the strongest magical presences that she had ever felt before, but that wasn't what caused her to regret this decision. It was because of all the pain and sorrow that she could feel coming from it, while also giving off the signatures of numerous different types of magic that were all powerful in their own right. But the one that was unmistakable and caused her to feel fear to her core was the presence of death magic that felt awfully similar to that of Zeref's.

"Like I said Ultear, it wouldn't help feeling my magic. If anything it is most likely leading you down the wrong path of who I might actually be." replied the Stranger who was once again hiding his presence.

"You have death magic." stated Ultear.

"Yes I do Ultear." he replied with a faint grin.

"And you also have a few more that are incredibly powerful." stated Ultear as she tried to figure out what exactly was going on.

"Very observant of you Ultear, most of the mages that have felt my magic while I wasn't hiding any of them become too afraid to talk or even detect anything other than the death magic. But you were always the crafty one that was always trying to come up with explanations and solutions." he said while leaning back into the chair.

"Most mages would spend their entire lives just trying to get one of those magic types you have." said Ultear in complete disbelief at the man in her living room.

"That they would Ultear, especially since all of the types of magic that I have are slayer." stated the Stranger as Ultear's eyes widened in disbelief.

"That's not possible the only people that I know who have done something even close to that are from Fairy Tail." stated Ultear as she looked at him and saw his grin get even bigger as she mentioned Fairy Tail.

"Oh my lord, you can't be him." stated Ultear in complete shock as she finally put everything together. And she figured out that Natsu Dragneel, now known as Salamander was sitting in her living room probably just returning from getting rid of a dark guild in the area permanently.

"I knew you would eventually figure it out Ultear." said Salamander with a little chuckle.

"I read all of the articles about you recently, but was hoping that they weren't true." replied Ultear with a frown.

"All of them are true Ultear, and as you could probably guess the Council is keeping a lot of it still under wraps for various reasons." he stated as he started to play with different types of magic on each of his fingers.

"I've never been good with these kinds of things Natsu." said Ultear nervously.

"No problem Ultear since I don't need any of that stuff, oh and its Salamander now." stated Salamander as he put some of his fire inside of his ice that it couldn't melt. It formed a small ice sculpture which looked like a little flame that contained some of his fire magic inside its center.

"So I guess we should get down to business then Salamander, unless you've come to kill me like all of those other dark mages." said Ultear with a smile.

"You are definitely one of a kind Ultear, and if you didn't know you are no longer a dark mage thanks to the current chairman and your old guild. So it means that you're completely safe with me as long as you don't try anything funny, which I really don't think you are dumb enough to even attempt something that foolish." said Salamander as he placed the frozen flame he made onto Ultear's coffee table.

"A lot of good being declared an independent mage will do for me since I'm an old lady now. And does this have anything to do with you taking down one of the Council members for being a dark mage?" asked Ultear as she rolled her eyes at being an old lady way before she ever should have.

"It does Ultear, but I wasn't asking for it. Personally I was looking forward to hunting down Jellal's new team of dark mages that he got after your departure from his guild. I would have to say that it happened because of Fairy Tail and Crime Sorciere trying to prevent me from getting Fujimoto and the new Chairman realizing the old ways weren't working." answered Salamander as he continued to play with is magic.

"The article did say that it was Fujimoto, but why were they trying to stop you?" asked Ultear, who could understand Natsu's desire to get revenge on those that ruined his life.

"Man do I really wish you were with them before they did all of that, you would have convinced them that nothing was going to stop me from getting what I wanted. And to answer your question Ultear they were trying to bring me back to Fairy Tail while also preventing me from killing anymore dark mages." answered Salamander as he placed another ice sculpture onto the coffee table that contained lightning this time.

"Seems like something Fairy Tail would do, but I don't think I would have even been able to convince them to not try. You know how they are when they get an idea; nothing stops them from completing their goal. But I am honestly surprised that Crime Sorciere helped them with that since you weren't doing anything wrong." stated Ultear with a grin as she watched Natsu lay another sculpture on the coffee table.

"I think it might have been Jellal just trying to impress Erza or maybe he didn't like how during our last visit I completely manhandled all of them. Oh and I guess I am the one person that actually stopped Fairy Tail, which makes me believe that I might have been the one causing them to get that reputation before." he said while he continued to make more ice sculptures.

"You very well could be Salamander, how are Jellal and Meredy?" asked Ultear with a small smile as she thought of her adoptive daughter.

"Meredy is a fine young woman that unfortunately still thinks the old Natsu is still in here. She was shocked to learn that you were still alive and well Ultear, which makes me wonder why you are hiding from her. As for Jellal he finally showed everyone else what I have always known about him, which is that he's nothing more than a coward that is willing to use anyone to get what he wants." said Salamander as he used a harsher tone when talking about Jellal.

"So you learned about the exact spell I used on him to manipulate him?" asked Ultear with a frown.

"I did and a whole lot more, which is shocking since I didn't know that dark guilds had so much information about forbidden magic. That I also find odd since some of those spells and magic types would be really helpful if they were used the way they were initially intended to." said Salamander as he placed another ice sculpture that contained poison this time.

"Only if mages would do that Salamander, but we both know that life isn't perfect. But that doesn't explain why you are calling Jellal a coward, he was always confident in his own abilities." stated Ultear with a questioning look on her face.

"That was only when he knew he was the strongest or smartest person there. But when he wasn't either of those two things, he hightailed it out of there before I could have some more fun with him since he's still a dark mage. Oh and he just sat back and watched me take away the magic of Sorano and Richard when all he had to do was let me have Fujimoto." replied Salamander.

"I heard rumors that you were capable of that, and I can honestly say I am not happy to hear that you did that to them. But they should have known better than to get in between a dragon and its prey, especially if it's pissed off like I can only imagine you were in such a situation." said Ultear with a frown.

"You seem to really understand more about dragon slayers than most Ultear, and I didn't want to do it either. But they still didn't give me Fujimoto after I constantly warned them what would happen if they didn't comply to my demands." stated Salamander as he put an ice sculpture that contained black wind onto the coffee table. That was now having a small collection on it, which was slowly starting to have all of his different types of magic contained in them.

"That is because we used to be enemies Salamander, and you should always know your enemy before you fight them. Also Hades was very interested in getting his own dragon slayer but never got the chance, so why don't we get to business like I suggested a while ago before we got sidetracked." said Ultear with a smirk.

"Sorry about that Ultear, I really don't get many conversations that are this fulfilling or intelligent. They usually are just stupid taunts that are followed by screams of pain that turn into them begging for their lives. Or they are just annoying conversations like my ones with Fairy Tail." he said while putting another ice sculpture down.

"I've actually enjoyed this so far as well Salamander. Since I too don't get many visitors that know about my past and can talk with me about these things." she said still smirking at him.

"Okay Ultear, the first thing I wanted to talk to you about is something that I know you are capable of guessing." stated Salamander with a creepy grin.

"Would that have to do with everything that I might still know about dark guilds and corrupt members in the government?" asked Ultear with a sly grin.

"That it would Ultear; since you know what I want I now am wondering if you are willing to give out that intel. Because I would really like it if you did, it didn't go well for Jellal when I asked him this exact thing a while ago." stated Salamander now having a completely serious expression on his face.

"You are probably mad that I am no longer a dark mage since it makes your moves nowhere near as frightening." said Ultear as she studied him.

"Yes and no Ultear, you are right that I can no longer kill you or take away your magic. But that doesn't mean I couldn't do all sorts of other terrible things and make sure that it wouldn't be traced back to me. I could even threaten to pay Meredy a visit, or possibly set her up to be declared a dark mage again. But I am really hoping that we can both be reasonable about this and proceed without any of that unpleasant business." responded Salamander, which caused Ultear's mouth to drop open at the things that he just said.

"What happened to you, the old Natsu would have never even thought of such dark things." stated Ultear now remembering who it was that was in her living room.

"You know what happened Ultear, or at least parts of it. I lost everything that I ever cared about in that place over the four years that I was held there. And because of that I now know how things actually work in this crazy world, so what is your answer?" he said with a frown as he looked directly in her eyes, which finally caused her to realize that his eyes are now red.

"I'll tell you everything that I know Salamander, since it might be the last thing that I can do to hopefully make this a better country. But can you promise me to not harm Meredy no matter what happens in the future?" asked Ultear hopefully.

"I will as long as she never becomes a dark mage, if that does happen then she's as good as dead." stated Salamander with a straight face.

"Thank you Salamander, so what was the other reason that you wanted to talk to me about some sort of partnership?" asked Ultear with a smile.

"Oh yes I was going to ask you this after you told me all that you know, but it doesn't really matter when I propose this to you. So what would you say to becoming an active mage again that gives me information about any dark guilds that you happen to run into? Oh and also what Fairy Tail is up to since we both know that it is only a matter of time until they try and stop me again." he said with a smirk that creeped Ultear out a little.

"I'd say that you might be blind since I can't do any of that with my age and lack of magical power." stated Ultear wondering what he was up to.

"That is something that I can reverse Ultear, you'll be back to how you were before you cast Last Ages. Actually you'll probably be stronger, but I will only do this if we have an agreement." replied Salamander as he placed another ice sculpture onto her coffee table.

"It isn't possible, I've looked into it for a full year so agreeing to it would be pointless since you couldn't deliver on your promise." stated Ultear.

"You're wrong Ultear, and you didn't find the answer to your problem because you were looking at things the public can look into. I have gone through the archives of more than fifteen different dark guilds, and you have a good idea of what they most likely contained." he said with a confident grin.

"Okay Salamaner, I'll give you my answer if you tell me how it's even possible to reverse the spell." she replied as she inspected him more closely than she had before. And she could tell that he was definitely trying to hide something, because of his bandages and the fact that his hood actually had shadow magic in it to help hide his facial features.

"So you still might not accept this offer even after I tell you how I plan to return you to your previous condition?" asked Salamander with a smile.

"Yep." replied Ultear as she continued to try and take in as much detail as possible.

"HAHAHAHA man is it fun to be around someone as crafty as you Ultear. I was actually hoping that most dark mages were like you, but so far none of them have even come close to you. And I am fine with that since you wouldn't be able to do this with anyone but me, well I can think of one more person that could possibly do this but it doesn't seem like he would randomly pop up and do this for you." said Salamander still smiling at her.

"So what is it Salamander?" asked Ultear who was now really intrigued at how he planned to accomplish it.

"You'll just do the spell again but this time using my magic while only focusing on going back to your old state." answered Salamander with a huge grin on his face as he watched the look of horror spread across Ultear's face.

"That would just make you an old man then Natsu, I mean Salamander!" shouted Ultear as she glared at him.

"That is one possible outcome that I highly doubt will happen, but if it does then I can end this little crusade of mine since I won't be able to do it anymore which Fairy Tail will be thrilled about. The other more likely outcome is it working like I suspect and both of us still being able to kick ass and you'll finally be able to go back to Meredy and be the mom that she wants. I could tell that she misses you as much as I missed Igneel Ultear, which unfortunately means she will stop at nothing until she finds you since I accidentally mentioned you while she was helping them stop me." explained Salamander never losing his grin.

"How could you do that?" shouted Ultear as she glared at him.

"I did say it was an accident, and I still don't know why you're hiding from her. So don't blame the person who is trying to fix this, and all you have to do is tell me what you see and hear every now and an again." he stated as he put his last ice sculpture on her coffee table.

"Let's say that I agree to this, how am I going to explain me coming back since I am confident that Grey recognized me? Also you want me to spy on Fairy Tail which is something I really don't want to do." she stated with a frown.

"You'll tell them the truth if that is what you want; I really don't care since you're going to be the one actually interacting with them. As for spying on them, I wouldn't call it that since you are only going to be telling me what they are trying to do concerning me." replied Salamander as he played with the last ice sculpture that he made which contained his death magic and was in the shape of a skull.

"That is still spying Salamander." declared Ultear as she glared at him.

"Fine call it what you want Ultear, and if it makes you feel any better you can tell them that you are going to give me the occasional update every now and then. And before you say that it's crazy, I know that at least the dragon slayers will be completely okay with it and might even help you out. Oh and if you don't want to I will just get some other dark mages to do it for me, which would mean that Meredy will have to go through all of the heartache that I experienced while searching for Igneel." said Salamander as he got up and went into her kitchen and got something to drink. While he was doing this Ultear was debating if she should take him up on this offer, which if she was honest with herself it was really advantageous for her and not nearly as much for him.

"So what's your answer Ultear, because if it's no then you should get to telling me everything that you know like we agreed and I will be on my way since Fujimoto is waiting for me. And I would really hate to make him wait since he really needs my help otherwise he'll actually die on me before I've gotten everything out of him." said Salamander with a glass of water in his hand.

"I thought you killed him." stated Ultear stunned that the man was still alive.

"Why would I let the man that caused me four years of pure hell to have a simple death, oh and he also helped make it possible for Rising Tide to do such things for years?" asked Salamander.

"I guess that makes sense, but how long do you plan keep him alive?" asked Ultear.

"Doesn't really concern you Ultear, and you should figure out what you are going to do. Because in two days Fairy Tail is having a meeting with the other guilds and the main topic happens to be yours truly." answered Salamander while giving her a grin.

"How do you know all of this?" asked Ultear once again surprised by him and his knowledge.

"This and that, I just so happen to have the underworlds information broker in my back pocket which means I am getting a lot of information on all of the legal guilds along with some stuff that I am more interested in. Oh and you would be surprised at how many people are willing to help me out since I am accidentally avenging their loved ones. Also I still have a lot of friends outside of the guilds who owe me one, so as you can see I don't really need you to do this, but it would be nice to have someone on the inside." explained Salamander.

"Alright Salamander let's do this." said Ultear with a grin spread across her face.

"I knew I could count on you." replied Salamander as he grinned back at her.

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Thanks for reading this chapter and I hope you enjoyed it. So I didn't get to the other guilds discussing with each other like I originally planned to do for this chapter. But once I got the idea of adding Ultear into the mix I kind of got carried away with it and wrote the last part of the chapter. Now the next chapter is going to have the meeting between guilds and also Ultear, most likely joining Fairy Tail and their reactions to her news about Natsu. Oh and the next chapter is going to have Fairy Tail knocking off a lot of possible candidates for Subject 8, meaning that it should be easier for you to figure out who she is since she isn't a OC. Oh and I would love to hear any suggestions that you might have, also I couldn't come up with a good title for this chapter so I went with that. If you have a better one I would be glad to change it if it fits better for this chapter. Well that is enough for this author's note so I'll just say like always to feel free to leave me a review or PM and I'll try to get back to you as soon as possible.**

 **Until the next Chapter**

 **Digem Out!**


	11. The Meeting

Ch 11: The Meeting

 **The mission Natsu was on when he went missing:**

"You're quite the impressive specimen Salamander." stated a man who now had burn marks all over his left arm.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys and why do you keep calling me a specimen? Actually a better question is why the fuck is a legal guild like Rising Tide attacking me when I only came to do a job outside of their town?" asked Natsu as he dropped a mage that was now unconscious thanks to receiving three flaming punches to the face.

"We're calling you a specimen Salamander because that is exactly what you are to us. Something that we are going to have fun running tests on once we capture you and take you back to our guild. As for your last question I kind of explained that just now, but if you were too stupid to piece it together we aren't actually a legal guild. We're a dark guild that was smart enough to get certified so the Council doesn't pay as much attention to us." answered the man with a sneer.

"Well considering that I've taken out most of your men I really don't think you're going to be capturing me anytime soon. And now that I know for sure that your whole guild is corrupt I am going to have fun telling the Council and then helping them destroy your pathetic guild." growled Natsu as he glared at the man in front of him.

"I was really hoping that we wouldn't have to do this to bring you in but you forced us Salamander. Bring them out boys let's show him wh…" said the man but got cut off by being thrown up against a wall with Natsu chocking him.

"This is just between me and your guild you bastard, there is no reason to bring others into this." growled Natsu as the man started to change colors due to the lack of oxygen.

"Stop that right now Salamander, otherwise this little girl dies!" shouted a man who had a knife to a little girl's throat and was crying uncontrollably.

"Okay but now we're at a stalemate since we both have hostages." replied Natsu as he loosened his grip on the mage, allowing him to breathe again.

"Like you could actually hurt him, you're from Fairy Tail and everyone knows that they don't kill." he stated with a grin as he put more pressure behind his knife and cause a little blood to come out as the girl continued to cry.

"I swear to god if you do anything else to her I'll kill you with my bare hands. Oh and yes we don't kill, but you assholes are just bad enough that I'll make an exception for you." growled Natsu as his hostage started to gasp again.

"Like I said before I really don't think you have it in you." stated the mage with a grin.

"All it would take for me to end this man's life is a simple twist or just tightening my grip farther until I crush his throat and chokes to death." replied Natsu as the man he was holding was starting to turn blue.

"Then I'll slit this girls throat." he said with a grin.

"Please help me mister." begged the little girl in tears.

"Hey it's okay honey I'll get you out of this." replied Natsu with a smile.

"It's not right to lie to her like that Salamander." he said with a sinister grin.

"It wasn't a lie, because if you do anything to her I will kill you before you can even think about doing anything else. And that's a promise so let the girl go now and I'll give you a head start on your life as a dark mage on the run." stated Natsu as he glared at him.

"That's funny since I was going to tell you to put my friend down or these other innocent little kids will be harmed." stated the mage as two other members of his guild came out with little kids in tears.

"You fucking bastard." growled Natsu as he continued to choke the mage he had in his grip.

"Do it now Salamander!" shouted the mage.

"How the fuck do I know that you'll let them go?" asked Natsu while loosening his grip.

"You have my word Salamander, as soon as you put these cuffs on we'll let them go back to their loving families." he replied as he tossed him a pair of magic suppressing cuffs.

"Okay you got yourself a deal." replied Natsu with a frown as he dropped the mage to the ground and put the cuffs on.

"See it wasn't that hard now was it Salamander?" he asked with a smile.

"Just let them go already." stated Natsu as he glared at him.

"No I have a better idea, kill them boys since we can't have any witnesses." he said to Natsu's horror while slitting the little girl's throat as if it was nothing. And the other two did the exact same thing to the kids that they had while having huge smiles on their faces.

"You're all fucking dead!" screamed Natsu as he brought his foot down onto the head of the mage that he used to be chocking and crushed it into the floor leaving behind a bloody mess.

"Shit." said the mage that had been talking with him as said pissed off dragon slayer appeared in front of him. The other two mages watched as Natsu grabbed the mages head while having his thumbs in the mages eye sockets and started to squeeze. Causing their fellow guild member to start screaming out in pain while he stabbed Natsu right in his gut but seemed to not even faze the pissed off dragon slayer.

"You're not even fit to be considered human!" shouted Natsu as the mage's head crushed under the intense pressure it was under. And Natsu then turned to the other two covered while covered in fresh blood as the body fell to the ground with a sickening thud. He now had a crazed look in his eyes as he looked at his next two victims.

"So who's next?" he asked in a deep voice as he started to walk towards them still with a knife in his gut. But that was the last thing on his mind right now; all he could think about was ridding the world of these two who would kill innocent children without a second thought.

 **Back to the present:**

"It took another ten members of their guild to bring me down when I couldn't even use my magic." stated Salamander.

"What the fuck are you talking about Salamander? I said you need to stop right now otherwise I'll kill this woman!" shouted a dark mage that was backed into corner with a few of his fellow members who also had their own hostages.

"Sorry about that, my mind drifted off to when I was faced with a similar situation. And that is when I learned to never trust the words of a dark mage, the only thing you human pieces of filth seem to understand is power and fear. Oh and I have plenty of both of those as you probably already know, which is why you're going to let go of your hostages right now otherwise I am going to take my time while killing you. So what's it going to be gents?" asked Salamander as he clenched his right hand. And the dark mages watched in horror as Salamander just killed their Master as if they didn't have hostages right there with them.

"We're not joking you crazy bastard!" shouted one of the dark mages only to cough out blood and fall to the floor as his hostage wasted no time and booked it out of there. The other dark mages watched as the mage on the floor writhed in excruciating pain while more blood came out of him.

"And I wasn't joking either, now enjoy the next two hours of complete hell since they are going to be your last. So what about the rest of you, are you going to be an idiot like your friend there or are you going to do the smart move and let them go and die peacefully in only a second?" asked Salamander as his red eyes glared at them while having a crazed grin spread across his lips which was the only other thing they could see of his face.

"I don't want that." cried out one of the mages as she collapsed to her knees and started to cry. The rest soon followed her example and let their hostages go, knowing that no matter what they did they were all going to die at the hands of the monster before them.

"Alright, you guys actually have brains inside of those heads of yours." stated Salamander with a smirk.

"Just get it over with already." said one of the dark mages as he stood up and walked towards Salamander.

"If that's what you want, but I did plan to let some of you leave since you were smart enough to listen to me." replied Salamander as he stood right in front of the dark mage.

"Wait are you serious?" asked the mage.

"Yep, but it's too late for you my friend. I've already pierced one of your arteries so you'll be dead by the time I finish this sentence." he said with a smile that creeped out the dark mages more than they already were as he removed his hand from the man's chest. This resulted in the dark mage falling to the floor dead as a pool of blood started to pool under him.

"Isn't the human body interesting?" he asked as he looked at the last surviving dark mages of this guild.

"Y-yes I I g-guess." stuttered out the girl from before.

"So I only need two of you to live and spread the word of what actually happened here so who's it going to be?" asked Salamander as he kicked the mage still writhing in agony on the floor away from them.

"How the hell are we supposed to decide that?" asked a different mage.

"Don't really care but you need to do it within the next ten minutes since I have somewhere else to be today. So I'll be off to go look through your archives, oh and running would be pointless and just piss me off." he stated as he walked away from the group of dark mages that were now looking at each other with untrusting eyes.

"Help me please." came the ragged plea from the entrance of their guild. Where an elderly man was hug from the door frame and looked like he hadn't eaten for days.

"Why the hell would we do that when we have our own problems?" asked one of the other mages.

"Because I can help you all get out of this." said the man barely above a whisper.

"Fuck that, I'm not going to try and take away the plaything of that monster. I have a better chance of surviving if I jumped off of a cliff with jagged rocks underneath it." said a different mage.

"I'm not helping you escape either." said the girl.

"Well I'm going to try my luck with whomever this guy is." stated one of the dark mages as he got up and headed towards the chained up man.

"Hey wait for me, Salamander isn't going to spare any of us." said the last dark mage of their little group.

"So what do we need to do whoever you are?" asked the first mage that was going to help the man.

"It's Fujimoto, and all you're going to do is die." replied Fujimoto with a look of pity.

"What the hell old man, you said you could help us?" asked the other mage.

"There's no help for anyone that Salamander sets his eyes on as his next target. All that waits for them is death and you can only hope for it to be quick." stated Fujimoto with a crazed look in his eyes and started to laugh while dangling from his chains.

"He's fucking crazier than Salamander." shouted the first mage. This cause Fujimoto to instantly stop laughing and now have a face of complete horror as he looked at the mage.

"He can hear everything you say and even read your thoughts." whispered Fujimoto in complete fear.

"Like hell Salamander can." he said back with a scoff.

"Actually I heard everything that went on here while I was gone. But you're right about me not being able to hear your thoughts, Mr. Fujimoto here only thinks that since I can predict exactly what he's thinking while I am torturing him since I've been through it all before." whispered Salamander from right behind the two mages that were going to help Fujimoto.

"It's not what it looks like." denied the other mage.

"Oh but it is, and you two have just volunteered to die so that your friends can live for a few more days at least." he said while his hands turned into iron.

"Please Salamander we'll do anything." said the first mage too afraid to turn around and look at him.

"Yeah, absolutely anything you just have to name it and it's as good as done." stated the other one hopefully.

"Interesting, the only thing I need from the likes of you two is your death." replied Salamander as he slit both of their throats with a finger he turned into a blade.

"I did just as you asked Salamander." whimpered Fujimoto.

"That you did Fujimoto, so for the rest of the day no more torture just like we agreed." he said while turning back to the other two dark mages who didn't know what to think about what they just witnessed.

"Now just to take the magic of you two so I can go meet an old friend of mine." he stated with a smirk as he walked towards the two.

 **At Fairy Tail:**

"Fuck." stated Sting while shaking his head.

"That pretty much sums it up in just one word." said Lyon with a frown.

"How the hell is he still alive?" asked Rogue with an angry expressing that most were surprised to see on the usually calm dragon slayer.

"Our only guess is through sheer will power and an undying hatred for dark mages." replied Gajeel from the other side of the guild.

"But that alone wouldn't keep someone alive after going through everything that he apparently did." stated Hibiki with a disgusted look on his face who didn't want to believe that there were mages out there capable of such atrocities.

"Salamander is also the toughest person I've ever met." said Gajeel with a little grin.

"And now Natsu's capable of taking away anyone's magic and can even obtain it if it's a slayer type." pointed out Jura with a serious expression.

"Yes he can Jura but he'll only take away someone's magic if they're a dark mage thanks to the Chairman. And he also has who knows how many other types of magic by now." replied Makarov.

"So far that includes all of the slayers that we know expect for you two." said Grey who was leaning up against a pillar, finally making his presence known.

"Sounds like Salamander is quite the beast now." stated Bacchus with a grin.

"He was able to take on the combined attacks of several S-Class mages and still survive only to beat the shit out of all of them moments later." said Laxus who just like everyone else didn't have a very happy expression.

"So what are we supposed to do now, since it seems like fighting didn't go that well for you guys last time?" asked Kagura.

"That's what we're trying to figure out now that all of you are caught up on the current state of things." replied Makarov.

"I say we help him with the elimination of dark guilds." stated Sting with slight growl.

"Of course that'd be your response." scoffed Grey.

"And what the hell do you mean by that Grey?" asked Rogue as he glared at the ice mage.

"Well from what I've been told, you dragon slayers can't help but want side with him on this." replied Grey.

"Or how about we can just see what needs to be done and aren't afraid to get our hands a little dirty unlike you Fairies." stated Sting with a slight smirk.

"Enough you two, the last thing we need right now is us turning against each other." stated Erza with a sad expression that has become the norm for her over the past few days.

"Whatever, but killing isn't going to solve anything here." mumbled Grey just loud enough for Sting to hear.

"Well it's better than just letting Natsu do this all by himself. And it's what we're going to do if we don't like the decision of the group after this discussion." replied Sting with a stern look.

"Glad to see that it's still lively as ever here even in his absence." said a voice from the doorway, which was only the outline of a woman.

"Who are you?" asked Makarov as he and everyone else got ready to attack the stranger if they needed to.

"An old friend, well now it's no longer an old friend thanks to him paying me a visit." replied the stranger as she stepped in.

"It can't be." stated Grey in shock as Ultear stood there in front of all of them with her usual grin.

"Ultear!" shouted Meredy as she jumped said woman and started to hug her while crying.

"Hello Meredy, it's great to see you too." she replied with a loving smile as she hugged her back.

"Wasn't she supposed to be the old lady that Natsu might kill for being a dark mage?" asked Gildarts from the bar with a drunken grin.

"Yes she was, which begs the question of how you are even standing here." replied Makarov as he kept an eye on her.

"I already told you that." she replied with another grin.

"Do you mean Natsu?" asked Erza with a look of disbelief.

"Yes I do, but he prefers to be called Salamander now." she answered still grinning.

"This isn't possible, you were an old lady and he wouldn't do something like this anymore." declared Grey with an angry glare.

"If that's the case then it's really going to suck for me when I wake up from this dream." replied Ultear with a smile as Meredy continued to hug her. Afraid that if she let go of her she would disappear like she did last time.

"I knew he was still in there and cared for his friends." said Erza with a slight smile.

"That's true Erza, but he's not going to let anyone stop him on his mission to kill all dark mages. He's even using them to get information for him probably under the threat of death in an extremely painful manner." said Ultear with a frown.

"And how do you know this Ultear?" asked Makarov.

"We had a really long conversation two days ago where he was very frank with me." she replied.

"I would like to hear about that, but first I would like to know how he turned you back to your old self?" he asked with a serious expression.

"He had me cast Last Ages again but this time use his magic." she answered while shivering just at the memory of it.

"That could have killed him or at least turned him into an old man!" shouted out Wendy in horror.

"He was confident that it wouldn't and was okay if it did since it would mean he could end his suffering. And he was confident that you would all be happy about that, but neither of those two things happened Wendy and he's the same as he was before I casted the spell." she stated.

"Thank goodness, I thought he might have died." replied Wendy with a smile.

"I'm surprised he said that to you and that he didn't suffer any side effects from doing such a complicated spell." said Makarov.

"Like I said before he was surprisingly open with me and seemed to have an endless supply of magic." she replied with a slight smile.

"He didn't hurt you at all Ultear?" asked Meredy as she looked up at her with a concerned look.

"No he didn't Meredy and I believe that even if I turned him down he wouldn't have done anything to me since he sees himself in you." replied Ultear as they finally separated from each other.

"She's nothing like him." declared Grey with a glare.

"Not true Grey, Meredy would have just been like him if I didn't return. She would have done everything in her power to find me just like Natsu did when he was trying to find Igneel." she replied.

"So he hasn't forgotten about his past." stated Makarov with a faint smile.

"So why did Natsu do this for you Ultear, because he isn't someone to do anything randomly anymore if you judge him by his most recent actions?" asked Lucy with a questioning look.

"Yeah this is where it gets tricky, but he said that I should just tell you the truth and that it'll be alright. The first thing that I did for him was tell him everything that I knew about dark guilds, and he seemed very interested in Tartaros for some reason. But I thought that you guys took care of them a few years ago?" she asked.

"We thought that too, but apparently they are still alive and kicking. Well they all are expect for Jackal since he unfortunately ran into Natsu as he was after Fujimoto." explained Levy with an upset face.

"Wasn't he the one that could blow himself up and then come back somehow?" she asked.

"Yes he was, but thanks to Natsu's long list of new magic he's gone permanently." stated Erza who looked more like her old self now.

"I actually think I might have a complete collection of his magic now." said Ultear with a sly grin.

"You have to be kidding me." said Sting in disbelief.

"Nope, during our talk he was constantly making ice sculptures that contained his magic in them and just left them at my place. And I actually brought them with me since they are surprisingly beautiful, and could possibly be helpful later on." she stated as she dumbed the ice sculptures onto the table they were gathered around.

"Shit, that's a lot of magic types he has now." remarked Rogue as they started to look at them.

"Why are their copies with only different colors on the inside?" asked Lyon as he held up two identical sculptures. But the only difference was one had black air twirling around in it while the other one just had white air in it.

"That would be because one of them is god slayer while the other one is most likely just dragon slayer magic." explained Levy as she started to organize them.

"What the heck is this one?" asked Sting as he held up one with a stone in it.

"Juvia wants to know why this one has nothing in it at all?" she asked holding up one that looked like a drop of water.

"Yours Sting is his rock dragon slaying magic while the one that you have Juvia is his water dragon slaying magic." replied Ultear who knew all of them pretty well since it still amazed her that they all came from Natsu.

"You have to be kidding me, he's getting more types of magic." mumbled Grey with a scowl.

"It would make sense since he's fighting dark guilds all of the time, and there is bound to be a few slayers in them." replied Wendy.

"I don't see one with light or shadows in it." stated Sting with a grin.

"What about this one then?" asked Kagura as she held up one in the shape of a skull with something black in the middle of it.

"That's his death dragon slayer magic and it's probably why all of his other magic types feel off." replied Ultear.

"And what do you mean by that Ultear?" asked Makarov.

"Well how should I put this? When I was using his magic on Last Ages I got to tap into his core magic and it for some reason felt cold when compared to what normal raw magic feels like. And I am only guessing it's because of him having the ability to use death magic." she explained with a frown.

"He doesn't just have the ability to use death magic, those fucking bastards implanted a death dragon lacrima into him." growled Gajeel as his fingers dug into the table, threatening to break it into pieces.

"Holy shit that makes sense as to why it's affecting his magic that way." she said with her frown only getting bigger.

"So you didn't know that he had a lacrima implanted in him?" asked Makarov.

"No I didn't and we really didn't talk about his time at Rising Tide for obvious reasons." she replied.

"Did he mention anything at all about what he might have done with other lacrimas that we assume he has?" he asked with a thoughtful expression.

"Nope, most of our discussion was about the future and his plans for me." she answered while shaking her head.

"So what else did Natsu want you to do in order for him to fix you?" asked Jura with an expressionless face.

"He wants me to give any new information I have on dark guilds to him." said Ultear now looking at the floor.

"That isn't too bad." stated Meredy with a happy grin.

"That's not all, he wants me to occasionally give him updates about what all of you are doing related to him." she said while not lifting her head.

"He fucking wants you to spy on us?" asked Grey in an angry tone.

"Yes he does." she replied.

"Are you actually going to do that for him?" asked Grey as he made his way to her.

"Yes I am, but please let me explain?" asked Ultear as she looked up with a frown.

"Like hell, there is no way we're going to let a spy of his stay here and give him information on our plans!" shouted Grey now right in front of her.

"HAHAHAHA he's still able to make this place lively while not even being here." chuckled Gildarts as he staggered towards the door.

"Grey calm down this instant and where the hell are you going Gildarts?" said Makarov with a stern glare.

"Going to drink somewhere else where the conversation won't remind me how big of a failure I am." stated Gildarts as he made his own door way right next to the real one.

"I'll go make sure he doesn't do something stupid." said Cana after letting out a long sigh.

"Cana it might be better if he has some alone time right now. You know how he saw Natsu like a son, so just give him some more time since he only found out about all of this just a little bit ago." stated Makarov with a sad look.

"Okay Master, but if he destroys something this time it's completely on you." she replied while sitting back down at the bar.

"Ultear, you were about to explain why you accepted Natsu's deal and Grey wasn't going to interrupt this time." he said while turning back to her with a warm smile.

"Oh, well you see I told him that I didn't want to do that. And he said that it wasn't spying since it concerned him and that I could tell you all about it since he has other ways of getting information. He also said that if I didn't do this then he would just force some dark mages to do it for him, which I really didn't like the sound of. Also since I am telling you all of this you can keep important information about him from me, and I could possibly tell him things that you want him to know." she explained.

"I can see why you decided to accept." replied Jura with a slight smile.

"Indeed and you've already thought of how this could be used to our advantage." stated Makarov while stroking his mustache.

"I think you are all forgetting the biggest thing here, Natsu gave her back her life. And I don't know about the rest of you but I would tell him anything he wanted for something like that." said Sting as a few others nodded their heads in agreement.

"Are you all crazy, she just told us that she's going to spy on us for Natsu? What if she is only doing that so we let our guards down?" asked Grey with an upset look on his face.

"Calm down Grey, didn't you hear that if she didn't do this then Salamander would have used dark mages to do it. I don't know about you but I prefer her over who knows what Salamander would send in her place." said Gajeel as he glared at the ice mage.

"Who would have thought that Natsu would be the cause for everyone in the guild turning into complete idiots." he replied.

"Grey, you are overreacting. This isn't as big of a deal as you think it is Ultear already said that he has other ways of getting information." said Erza as she glared at him.

"But how good is his intel, and he could just be bluffing to get her to do this?" asked Kagura as she eyed Ultear suspiciously.

"Oh he definitely wasn't lying, Natsu seems to know about what's happening all over Fiore." said Ultear.

"And how do you know this?" asked Jura.

"For one he knew about this little meeting of yours and wanted me to make it here in time. And apparently he has the Lady working for him now." she replied as a few of the mages eyes widened at the last part.

"I thought she was just a myth." stated Kagura with a shocked look.

"You can't be serious." said Makarov with his mouth open.

"The Council has been after her for years but no know even knows what she looks like." said Jura with a surprised look on his face.

"Who in the world are you guys talking about?" asked Lucy with a confused look.

"Lady is the name given to a dark mage that specializes in obtaining information that other dark guilds want. She's supposedly one of the main reasons that a lot of the dark guilds seem to know when the Council is making a move on them and allowing them to disappear without a trace. That along with the ability to get dirt on any person you want, or even getting pretty much information on anything else which makes her the stuff of legends." explained Levy.

"If only she was just a myth, but that definitely explains how Natsu was so efficient at hunting down corrupt officials and proving that they were just that." said Jura.

"That's not all; he said something else that caught my attention which was that he had a lot of people willing to help him out. Something about avenging their loved ones and them wanting to help him in any way that they can." said Ultear.

"That's not too surprising since Natsu has gotten rid of a lot of dark guilds. And they probably only want to show him how thankful they are to him for doing that." stated Juvia with a smile.

"Then they are all just a bunch of crazy people too." said Grey with a scowl that might have become permanent.

"Grey if you aren't going to contribute anything useful then please just be quiet." stated Makarov.

"Tch." was Grey's only response.

"If that is true then he really won't need you Ultear, but I am glad that you accepted. And I would like to formally invite you to join Fairy Tail." he said with a smile.

"Are you serious?" asked Ultear.

"Definitely, so what do you say?" asked Makarov.

"Absolutely, I already consider all of you my friends." she replied with a bright smile.

"Glad to hear that Ultear, now I only have one more question for you." he stated with a serious expression.

"And what would that be Master Makarov?" asked Ultear still smiling.

"How do you get in contact with him?" he asked.

"Anything that I feel is important enough to send I put onto one of these cards and give to a man running a little shop in the middle of town." she answered while pulling out a stack of cards. That on one side was completely white while on the other side was black with a red emblem in the center that looked exactly like the mark Salamander always left behind at the scenes of his work.

"Where have I seen those before?" asked Lucy as she looked at the cards in Ultear's hand.

"They've actually become really popular lately and are being sold in almost every shop. From what I've heard it's one of the ways people can show that they support what Natsu is doing." stated Levy with a slight grin.

"Is that why I keep seeing that emblem painted on the sides of random buildings?" asked Laxus with an eyebrow raised.

"Yep, it's just another way of showing that you support his mission. Pretty much having that emblem anywhere says you are a supporter of Salamander's crusade to rid Fiore of all dark mages." she explained.

"So those are the people he was talking about that are willing to help him." stated Ultear.

"Probably, but I don't think he would trust just anyone that has his emblem." replied Levy with a thoughtful look.

"Of course not, but there are plenty of ways he could use this to his advantage. Just like he is by using these cards to pass on information and who knows what else he might come up with." said Ultear.

"Not to be rude, but what are we going to do about all of this?" asked Jura.

"That was the main reason we had this meeting Jura, and now that you've been filled in we can hopefully reach a decision." replied Makarov.

"Can't we just knock some sense into him?" asked Bacchus, who just wanted to fight Natsu after hearing how strong he is now.

"Didn't you hear what happened when they tried that last time?" asked Rogue with slight scowl.

"Yeah but they didn't have all of us with them then." he stated with a grin.

"It wouldn't have mattered, if anything it might have just made it worse and he might have started to disable some of us permanently." said Makarov with a frown.

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do?" asked Hibiki.

"That's what we're supposed to decide now. We have a way of possibly fixing him but that would require a lot of luck and finding another mate for him. And the only other thing that we can think of is hopefully finding another cure for a dragon slayer losing their mate." he answered.

"I can start looking into that last one." said Hibiki with a confident grin.

"I can't believe that he had to go through all of that." said Kagura with a frown.

"Since we actually have you all here right now, are any of your female members away for longer than a year and your only contact with them have been through letters?" asked Lucy as she looked at Kagura and Hibiki.

"As far as I know none of our members have done that." answered Hibiki.

"None of the mages of Mermaid Heel have gone missing for more than a week without me going out there and bringing them home." stated Kagura with a proud grin.

"Then what guild could Subject 8 have come from?" asked Lucy with a frown.

"Have you looked into some of the smaller guilds?" asked Sting.

"Not all of them since there are so many, we were hoping that she was from one of the guilds that he actually interacted with." she stated.

"We could help you out with that." stated Kagura with a small smile.

"Thanks Kagura, it would really help us out." replied Lucy with a faint smile.

"What if she was from a dark guild, Natsu has dealt with his fair share before he got captured." stated Jura.

"She isn't from a dark guild since Natsu thought she might have been friends with Wendy." said Erza with a frown.

"Then I guess that leaves the smaller guilds." replied Jura.

"Just so you know, we're open to any ideas that you might have about this situation." said Makarov which then got a healthy discussion going. That had all sorts of ideas tossed out about how to fix Natsu in his current predicament.

 **With Gildarts:**

"Give me another drink." slurred Gildarts.

"Sorry sir but I think you've had enough." stated the bartender.

"And what the hell would you know?" asked Gildarts with a slight glare.

"That it looks like you're trying to drink yourself to death, which I have nothing against just don't do it at my place." he replied while cleaning a glass in front of him.

"You got that right buddy, but unfortunately I can't seem to drink faster than my body can handle it. Isn't that a funny problem to have, I can honestly say I never saw this as a problem before?" stated Gildarts with a sad chuckle.

"Here, it's on the house. So what has you trying to find an answer at the end of a ton of bottles?" asked the bartender as he gave him a glass of whisky with a sad smile.

"Thanks, and I'm just trying to figure out what the hell am I supposed to do in a situation like this." replied Gildarts before taking a swig of his free drink.

"And what situation would that be friend?" he asked with a pleasant smile.

"This whole Salamander mess is my fault." mumbled Gildarts before taking another drink.

"How so, from what I've read and heard the only ones to blame for him starting this crusade of his are those filthy dark mages? Mainly the ones from Raising Tide and the ones hiding in the Council, which he's already taken care of." he said while resting his elbows on the counter with both hands under his chin.

"Yeah but I didn't even look for him while he was being tortured for those four years." stated Gildarts.

"Did you know he was there?" he asked.

"No, but that doesn't excuse me for not trying to find him." replied Gildarts with a frown before downing the rest of his drink and slamming the glass down on the counter.

"I guess it doesn't Sir, but I am confident that killing yourself with booze isn't the correct response either." he stated while filling the glass for him.

"I know that, but it at least numbs the constant pain I'm feeling every day since I found out." stated Gildarts with a slight grin before he took another drink.

"You've been like this for more than a month?" asked the bartender.

"Nope, only found out about a week ago." replied Gildarts with a sad smile.

"How the hell did you manage that, it's pretty much the only thing that anyone ever talks about anymore? I mean he even has a following of devoted citizens that would do anything for him now, not to mention the overall support he's receiving." he stated.

"I'm the ace of Fairy Tail and some of my missions take years to complete, so I have been gone for more than two years. And he can't help but get people to follow him, even if he's killing dark mages like they are nothing but insects to him." chuckled Gildarts.

"Sounds like you're being a little rough on yourself old man." stated the only other person in the bar. Who was in a booth alone while still wearing his tattered black cloak so it was impossible to distinguish any of his features.

"And why the hell do you think that?" asked Gildarts as he glared at the stranger.

"Well from what I just heard you were probably away on a mission when he went missing and only returned once while he was still gone." stated the stranger in his deep voice.

"So what, I still should have looked for him then." he argued back.

"Yeah you probably should have, but at least to me it seems like someone might have told you to not waste your time. And I can only assume that it was someone you have or had great respect for to actually get you to go against your instincts." said the stranger as he turned to them, revealing his glowing red eyes and sly grin.

"So what if that's what happened?" asked Gildarts as he downed the rest of his drink.

"Well if that was the case then you aren't at fault here and the one responsible for you not tearing apart Fiore to find him is your Master." stated the stranger while still grinning.

"I never said that it was my Master." stated Gildarts now glaring at the stranger with his magic flaring up.

"No you didn't, but it was pretty obvious when you think about it Gildarts. And yes I know who you are, the ace of Fairy Tail and surrogate father to Natsu Dragneel which is probably why you are taking all of this so hard." replied the stranger before taking a sip of his own drink.

"Who the fuck are you?" asked Gildarts in a low tone as his magic flared up even higher.

"Someone who knows all about this whole thing." he stated as his grin only got bigger.

"That isn't an answer." pointed out Gildarts as he let out even more of his magic which started to crack things around him from the sheer pressure.

"Calm down old man, and what's with that weird picture you have behind the bar?" asked the stranger.

"Don't ignore me." growled Gildarts as he started to walk towards the man in the booth.

"I'm not Gildarts, you are just getting worked up over nothing and I want to know why that emblem is popping up all over the place." stated the stranger with a smirk.

"It's one of the ways you show that you support Salamander and his crusade to rid Fiore of all dark mages." stuttered out the bartender who was surprisingly still awake after Gildarts letting out so much magic.

"Interesting, and you're a mage aren't you." replied the stranger while smiling at the bartender.

"Fuck this, I'll get my answers if I have to beat them out of you!" shouted Gildarts as he threw a punch at the stranger. But he was shocked when he his fist was stopped by the man's right hand that had red bandages going down his arm.

"Well that is no way to act to a complete stranger, old man." stated the man with a grin.

"Who are you and how were you able to block that so easily?" asked Gildarts after jumping away from the man and getting into a fighting stance.

"I'm pretty sure you can figure out who I am old man, and I stopped that because I'm stronger than you. So bartender what type of magic do you use?" asked the stranger as if Gildarts didn't just try to hit him.

"I'm an air mage, but not a very strong one." replied the bartender from the corner of his bar, trying to be out of the way if the two started to fight.

"No, it couldn't be." stated Gildarts as he dropped his fighting stance.

"Sorry mister bartender but there is no way you aren't strong if you stayed conscious while this old man here let out his magic like that." said the man with a big grin.

"Really?" asked the bartender with a surprised look.

"Yep, and I have a really good sense about these things. Probably since I have fought more mages in the last month than most do in their entire lives." he stated with a confident smirk.

"N-natsu is that you?" asked Gildarts hesitantly.

"I go by a different name now, but yes it's me old man." he replied with a grin like he used to have all those years ago.

"This has to be a dream." stated Gildarts as he shook his head.

"Sorry Gildarts but it isn't, and I sure hope you are only this easy to handle since you're drunk off your ass." replied the now revealed Salamander.

"No way, you're actually here." said the bartender in shock.

"The one and only, so why are you a supporter?" asked Salamander as he sat down at the bar.

"My parents were killed by dark mages a few years ago and the bastards that did it were only sent to prison. That they easily escaped from within a month of being locked up and just went back to killing others. But then you showed up at their guild a few weeks ago and got rid of all of them so that they could never hurt anyone else." he explained with a grin.

"I'm only sorry that I didn't start this crusade of mine as you called it years ago. If I did then your parents would still be with you most likely." replied Salamander with a frown.

"You can't blame yourself for someone else's actions when you have never even met them before." he stated as he poured Salamander a new drink.

"What are you doing here Natsu?" asked Gildarts still rooted in the same spot he was in when he finally figured it out.

"Obviously to check on you old man, because our last meeting told me that you had no idea what happened. And I had to assume that you would do something as stupid as blaming yourself for all of this." stated Salamander with a grin.

"How could I not?" he asked with a frown.

"Because it isn't your fault, the only ones to blame are the ones that I have been hunting down and disposing of." replied Salamander as pulled out one of the stools for Gildarts to sit down on.

"But we barely looked for you." he stated while taking a seat.

"I'd be lying if I said that didn't piss me off a bit, but even if you had you never would have thought to look for me in a supposedly legal guild. Hell I don't even know if I would have found them if it happened to a different member." said Salamander as he took another sip.

"I am confident that you wouldn't have stopped until you found them, because that's just who you are." he said with a slight grin.

"Maybe but that's something we'll never get to know. So why are you even here old man and not at the meeting about me and what should be done with me?" he asked with a grin.

"Didn't want to listen to them go on and on about what they think might help you. And all it did was remind me of my failure at protecting you or finding you when you needed me the most." stated Gildarts with a slight frown.

"Good enough of a reason for me, so how about we catch up for the next ten minutes?" asked Salamander with a smirk.

"I'd like that, but why for only ten minutes?" he asked back.

"Because thanks to you freaking out the whole guild is trying to find you right now and figure out what's going on. And I have a feeling that if I met them right now it would turn out like last time, which is something I would really like to prevent." stated Salamander as he downed the rest of his drink.

"Sorry about that Natsu, can I ask you another question?" asked Gildarts with one of his usual grins that he hadn't made since he learned what happened to Natsu.

"Shoot old man." replied he replied with a smirk.

"Why do you still have your hood up?" asked Gildarts.

"That's because I don't feel like using transformation magic to look normal." answered Salamander with a grin.

"What in the world do you mean by that Natsu?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Let's just say that after everything that's happened to me over the past four years it has changed my appearance to the point that you probably wouldn't even recognize me. But enough of that, what have you been up to and how have your jobs been going?" asked Salamander as he motioned to the bartender for another drink.

 **Fifteen minutes later:**

"Dad, what the hell is going on?" asked Cana as she burst through the door.

"Just had a conversation with a friend." he replied with a smile that shocked everyone there.

"Why did you start using your magic like that Gildarts?" asked Erza as she glared at him.

"Oh that, I got a little worked up when I thought I was going to have to fight a strong opponent." he answered while chuckling a little bit.

"Who in the world could get you to unleash that amount of magic?" asked Cana with a skeptical look.

"Just forget about it since nothing's wrong." stated Gildarts with a grin.

"Fine, but why couldn't I track you down until three minutes ago?" she asked while giving him a glare.

"I honestly have no idea honey." he replied with a smirk.

"He was here, wasn't he?" asked Ultear as she entered the bar.

"And what would give you that idea?" asked Gildarts with a nervous look.

"First hint was that you thought it would actually be a real fight and he's probably one of the few people that would give you one hell of a fight. Second is that Cana couldn't track you, which is something that he does without even trying. And the last one is that I could sense he was in town for a while now." answered Ultear with a smirk.

"You can sense him?" asked Erza.

"Somewhat, and I think it's only thanks to me having some of his magic in me." replied Ultear with a smile.

"Is he still here?" she asked hopefully.

"No he hightailed it out of here heading north about three minutes ago and now I have no idea where he is." answered Ultear with a slight frown.

"So was he actually here dad?" asked Cana as she glared at him.

"Yes he was, and now I'm confident that the Natsu we all knew is still alive and well in there." he stated with a confident grin.

"And why did neither of you feel the need tell the rest of us?" asked Erza with a red aura surrounding her as she glared at the two of them.

"Because he just wanted to have a few words with me." replied Gildarts with a smirk.

"I thought it would be best to let him do as he pleases." stated Ultear.

"Fine, but next time you need to tell me right away." declared Erza while she continued to glare at them.

"Sorry Erza but that isn't going to happen, I'm not going to force him into doing something he doesn't want to do." stated Gildarts as he looked back at her with a glare of his own.

"I'll tell you, but it won't really help since he'll sense you from a mile away." replied Ultear.

"So what did the two of you talk about?" asked Cana with a smile since her dad seemed a lot better than he was just an hour ago.

"Just this and that, and no I'm not going to tell you about it since it wasn't really that important. Well I guess we better go back to the guild to let them know that everything's okay." said Gildarts as he paid for his drinks and then left the bar with the rest following him.

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. So the possible candidates for who Natsu's mate was has gotten even smaller after this chapter, and just because they think she isn't from a dark guild doesn't mean that she didn't used to be from one. So that is about it, except for me wanting to hear some ideas of what Fairy Tail might try and do to stop Natsu and if you don't have any then that's fine. As always feel free to leave me a review or pm and I'll try to reply as soon as possible.**

 **Until the next Chapter**

 **Digem Out!**


	12. The New Order

Ch 12: The New Order

 **Four months later:**

It's now been a half a year since Salamander escaped from that hell hole formerly known as Rising Tide, and during that time a lot has changed for Fiore. A once major concern has almost been completely reduced to an afterthought for the average citizen all thanks to one single man setting out on a bloody mission. The constant fear of dark mages attacking is one of the last things people are now worried about after Salamander and then later on a few other legal guilds joining him on the eradication of their kind. A bigger fear for most citizens now is a bandit raid, which a few people across the country are actually hoping is Salamander's next target once he's done with dark mages.

Most dark mages are now in hiding trying to live honest lives, with the constant threat of Salamander showing up to finish them off. That alone is something that most would have never saw coming when dark mages used to proudly proclaim themselves as such and demand whatever they wanted when coming into towns. As to why most of them are all in hiding now that can be explained by the surprising turn of events that happened three months ago, which most people are still surprised the Council actually did.

Starting three months ago the Council announced that they would eventually be releasing all of their arrested dark mages a little at a time each week. This of course caused instant outrage across the country since those dark mages instantly would form a new dark guild with the group that they were let out with. But just a few days later all of them except for one sole survivor were found brutally murdered by Salamander who of course took away the magic of the one member that he spared. And this kept happening each and every time that the dark mages were released, so the other dark mages started to try other strategies hoping to not suffer the same fate as the ones before them.

But no matter what they tried it seemed to always end with their death at the hand of Salamander. The best solution that they could ever come up with was to scatter completely and be on their own, and for any of them to even have a slim chance of surviving even after that they had to try and make an honest living. Because those that didn't usually would be murdered in some very disturbing ways and usually put on display for the whole country to see. Needless to say the citizens quickly figured out this was the Council's way of letting Salamander continue his work while not having him break into their prisons to do it.

Another thing that no one could have predicted was almost the unanimous opinion that Salamander was a hero of the country willing to do what others couldn't. And just going from the drop in dark guilds and crimes it was hard to argue that he wasn't having a positive effect on the country even if he was just going around killing dark mages to bring it about. His emblem could now be found on pretty much everything you could imagine, but the most shocking thing to come from everyone seeing him as a hero was the formation of the Salamander Clan.

This of course was just the name that they usually used as a way to honor him, but their main purpose was to stop and help protect the citizens of Fiore from everything else except for the dark mages that the real Salamander seemed to have a pretty good handle on. Most of the members were young mages that wanted to be a part of something bigger than just your normal guild, which is exactly what the Salamander Clan became in under a month. But to join you didn't even have to be a mage all you had to do was be willing to fight for your country and that is one big reason why it grew so fast. They had dens, which is what they called their guild halls, in all of the major cities and were still in the process of trying to get them in all of the others as well.

The Council at first didn't see anything wrong with this until it already became something that they could no longer stop without getting all of the public against them. Since nothing would turn the citizens against the Council faster than trying to stop an organization that's only goal is to help others and protect the citizens. There was another side effect thanks to this new organization which happened to be the closing of most small guilds since they started to lose business to the Salamander Clan. This was also another reason why it got bigger than anyone expected since the mages from the recently closed down guilds usually just joined them.

So the Council and the other major guilds all just had to sit back and keep a watchful eye out on this new guild that considered Salamander their Master even though he's never interacted with them directly. If you exclude some of the people that he saved who then went on to join it afterwards, but what both the Council and the other major guilds were concerned about was someone using that group for their own selfish purposes. The only major guild that decided to help Salamander on his elimination of dark mages was Sabretooth, who happened to get fed up after getting nowhere in two months of trying to do the other solutions to possibly bringing Natsu back to them.

The two months after Sabretooth deciding to go their own way still yielded almost absolutely nothing for Fairy Tail and the other guilds. They crossed off all of the still active guilds in the past year which was hard to do with all of those small ones closing down all of a sudden and since no one cared about keeping track of their old records it was only harder to do. But even after all of that they still hadn't figured out the identity of Subject 8, which lead them to start looking into guilds that closed down shortly after Subject 8 would have been taken, hoping that they could find her in there. Otherwise she would have most likely come from a dark guild which meant that they never would figure out her identity with how thoroughly Natsu or the Salamander was destroying them.

As for trying to find a mate or some sort of cure for the pain that he was being put through they came up with nothing for multiple reasons. The first and greatest reason was that Natsu was never there to let them test anything on him or say his opinions on possible candidates for a new mate. The other big reason was that they still really didn't know exactly what he was going through so they couldn't really fix it. As for finding a cure somewhere in history Hibiki unfortunately only came back with the two solutions that Wendy already gave them with death being the one that happened the most in the past.

The dragon slayers were rarely seen at the guild anymore, which didn't sit well with a few of the members since the slayers themselves said that they felt like they were being compelled to help Natsu. But they were all adamant that they weren't doing that and were only going about all of this in their own way since he was one of their own. That didn't sit well with Erza or Gray who demanded that they be let in on what they were up to; let's just say that if Gildarts hadn't stepped in a few minutes later there would have been a guild wide fight that would have ruined friendships unlike their past brawls that were just a form of relieving stress. After that incident the dragon slayers pretty much stayed to themselves whenever at the guild and showed up even less and usually only to grab a job.

As for how Team Natsu was handling this whole situation it could easily be summed up in not well. Lucy threw herself at figuring out who Subject 8 was and was eventually kicked out of her apartment for not paying her rent to only then go and live with Erza. When in all actuality all that meant was she just stored her things there since she usually just slept at the guild after a long night of doing research. Happy of course was with the dragon slayers and more specifically Wendy so there isn't much to say there.

Erza and Gray however decided to try and hunt him down to have a few words with him for very different reasons. Gray wanted to yell and berate the dragon slayer for doing what he did to them months ago, which Warren still hadn't recovered from and would only look out the guild's wind with a broken look. He pretty much was a constant reminder for all of them that if you tried to find out things that the Salamander didn't want discovered you would most likely pay for it dearly.

Erza however just wanted to talk with him and apologize to him for everything that she said and did that day. All in the hopes that he would come back with her to the guild and if not that then possibly open up to her like he did to Ultear and Gildarts. But for that to happen they had to at least see him which was turning out to be an incredibly hard thing to do when the person you're chasing barely needs to sleep or eat. It also didn't help that after the first month of them trying to track him down they realized that he started to toy with them.

Salamander did things like leaving dark guild members just alive enough to tell them about the monster that decimated their guild. Of course he made sure that they wouldn't be able to save any of them since he had a reputation to hold up. He would also sometimes wait until they could just barely see him before vanishing until they met him at the next guild that he brutally destroyed. And just recently he started to dress the mages that he took their magic away from them as himself, so when they chased after him they would only find the shell of a human waiting for them with a distant look in their eyes who would usually just say Salamanders speech about being the cure for all dark mages.

All of this just made Gray angrier at his former rival, while for Erza it just made her more concerned since it seemed like the longer he did this the more likely the small part of the Natsu they all knew from before was slowly slipping away. That was also the same fear that Makarov had when he learned that Natsu was taunting the two of them this way. But unfortunately there really wasn't anything that he could do about it but hope that Natsu would be able to conquer this challenge like he's always done with anything that stood in his way. The only problem was that he was afraid that Natsu didn't see this as a challenge and was more than happy to remain the executioner of all dark mages.

As for Salamander the man that seemed to be responsible for causing a huge shift in how the country of Fiore was being run continued to do what he de did best. And that quite simply was leaving the death and destruction of dark guilds in his wake, which is actually what he was trying to wrap up right now.

"It wasn't supposed to end like this, I was supposed to become the strongest human alive." said a huge man that was staggering down a tunnel in a secluded cave. Looking at him the first thing that you would take note of was his overall huge form that would tower over most men, but with that large size of his he somehow had a completely ripped body for a man his age. The next thing you'd notice about him was his pointed ears and white hair and beard that jutted outwards from his face, which in the beards case actually slightly covered the large red beads that he had as a necklace.

"To think that monster was hidden behind that already strong mage." he said while continuing down the tunnel as an eerie whistle could be heard coming from the direction that he just came from. Upon hearing it his face became even more terrified as he quickened his pace, clutching at his side that had a large hole in it.

"What's going on Jiemma?" asked a voice from inside his front left pant pocket. Using his other free hand Jiemma fished out the communication lacrima and let out a sigh of relief at seeing it was Torafuzar his superior.

"It's Salamander, he somehow found out about this base and is already done destroying it." he replied while coming to a complete stop.

"Why didn't you stop him?" asked Torafuzar in an angry tone.

"I tried but he's no longer human." said Jiemma in an angry tone of his own.

"And neither are you Jiemma, it seems that giving you a second chance was a mistake." stated Torafuzar.

"A mistake? Tartaros would be nothing without me right now! You were all more than ready to admit defeat to those worthless Fairies until I came back and saved your sorry asses!" he shouted as his veins started to bulge.

"And because of that we allowed you to have your own division that up till now never failed us. But you know that our guild no longer tolerates a second failure of any sort." replied Torafuzar in a calm tone.

"I should have just let you all die like you wanted to." he spat out with venom.

"But you didn't Jiemma, if you could at least wound Salamander that would be greatly appreciated." stated Torafuzar before cutting of his communication with him.

"That fucking bastard!" growled Jiemma as he crushed the lacrima.

"Come on Jiemma, did you really think that being in a guild like Tartaros would have anything close to loyalty?" asked Salamander leaning up against the tunnel wall in the direction Jiemma was fleeing towards.

"Salamander." he replied while glaring at him, wondering how he was able to get past him without being detected.

"The one and only my old friend, that I honestly really should have killed all those years ago." stated Salamander with a smirk.

"I'm thinking the same thing." he stated while trying to figure out what to do in this situation, but was surprised when a crazed laughter came from Salamander and continued for a few minutes.

"You actually believe that you could have killed me back then don't you? Oh man that is great, it's actually one of the reasons I was excited to learn that you were the head of this branch. With most of the other dark guilds that I destroy now days their Masters do the standard trash talk which gets very tedious after hearing it over and over again. But when you're meeting someone from your past you never know what's going to happen." said Salamander as he wiped away some imaginary tears.

"Then I'll just have to kill you now!" shouted Jiemma as he sent a blast of his magic at Salamander that surrounded him in an explosion. When the explosion died down he was left completely speechless and could no longer move, not because Salamander was completely unharmed. But because during his attack Salamander's hood fell down and exposed what he was hiding underneath.

"Not what you expected to see is it Jiemma?" asked Salamander as he put his hood back up now having a smirk.

"What are you, and how are you alive?" stuttered Jiemma as he fell to his knees because of the power radiating of off Salamander right now.

"I asked myself that question for three whole years, and then I thought I found that answer when I was with her. But after she was taken away from me I realized I was wrong, it took me a little longer to figure out the answer to that question but luckily dark guilds have a lot of hidden secrets in them." he answered now completely covered in black and red flames that fought for dominance as he also continued to release his magic causing the cave to actually start shaking. Jiemma was screaming in his head to run for it but for some unknown reason his body wouldn't listen to his commands and just forced him to look at his impending doom.

"What are you?" asked Jiemma in a timid voice, not being able to do anything else.

"Your END and the END of the rest of your kind." he replied while grabbing Jiemma's face causing a pain filled scream to echo throughout the system of caves and tunnel.

 **At the entrance of the cave:**

"He's still here." stated Gray with a shocked expression as he listened to the pain filled screams of someone in their final moments at the hands of the Salamander.

"Wait Gray, you know he's way out of our league." said Erza as she held him back from charging in.

"I know that, just look around. But that's not going to stop me from giving him a piece of my mind." declared Gray as he broke free of her grasp on him.

"You shouldn't make him angry." she stated with a frown.

"Why the hell not, it's not like he can take my magic away or kill me since those would both get him labeled as a dark mage?" he asked while giving her a glare. Erza was about to respond to him but jumped forward when something grabbed at her heel.

"Run." choked out the dark mage who only had his upper half since the lower part was burned clean off.

"How is he still alive?" asked Gray as he fought to keep down his launch as he realized that most of the dark mages at this guild were mainly scattered out in pieces. Either from being ripped or cut apart and in the case of the man still clinging to life some of them burned until just certain parts were all that remained.

"His wound was instantly cauterized by Salamander's flames but he's definitely not going to make it." she replied with a frown.

"Just like every other dark mage he's left behind for us, did you really expect that he'd change now?" he asked while gesturing to the cave that still had screams coming from it.

"Why are you two still here? Run before he comes back for me." said the dying mage in between coughs that brought up some blood.

"We're not running because we've been trying to find him." replied Erza as the mage looked up at her with disbelief as another pain filled scream could be heard, but closer than before which caused the two Fairy Tail mages to tense up.

"You're crazy if you're trying to find that monster." choked out the mage as he could feel the temperature rising and unfortunately knew what that meant. All three of them continued to wait as the temperature continued to rise as an eerie red glow could be seen coming from farther inside of the cave. And along with that terrifying red glow came an even eerier whistle that sounded like whoever was doing it experienced more hardships than any person ever should have to go through.

So for the next few minutes they stood there as the glow got brighter as the whistling also got louder. Finally a figure could be seen with red flames dancing around it while it was dragging something quite large behind it with just one arm. With one swift movement the figure launched whatever it was carrying outside of the cave to where it landed in front of the two Fairy Tail mages, who were both shocked when they realized that the thing thrown at them was actually the corpse of someone they both knew.

"I really didn't think you two would enjoy looking at corpses as much as you both apparently seem to. I mean I thought after the first ten guilds that I left those presents for you at would turn you away, but low and behold you keep coming back for more." stated Salamander with a smirk as he deactivated his fire.

"You killed him." stated Erza as she looked down at the lifeless body of Jiemma. That she only could recognize because of his distinctive necklace and overall huge form, otherwise he was just severely burnt.

"We didn't follow you around because we like your work Salamander, we both came to talk with you." said Gray as he tried to contain his anger but was having a really hard time at it.

"That's what Ultear told me in her last message, well that and also asked me to stop taunting you and just talk with you the next time you were nearby." he replied as he made his way over to the only survivor of his latest work.

"We're not going to let you kill him Natsu, and why did you kill Jiemma?" asked Erza as she stood in his path to the dying mage with Gray right beside her.

"That's pretty cruel of you Titania, we both know he's beyond the point of saving now and I was just going to put him out of his misery." he responded as his smirk only grew.

"Like you even care, if you did then you wouldn't be doing any of this Natsu!" shouted Gray as he glared at him.

"Oh seems like you've got a lot of pent up anger there Gray, I'd be careful since I had that for a long time and look at what it did to me. Also I do care, otherwise I wouldn't be doing any of this and would have just killed anything in my sight." he said with a little chuckle that only infuriated Gray more.

"Gray, please don't fight him and you still haven't told us why you killed him." she said as she watched him take a knee and put a fist on the ground while releasing some magic which caught them both off guard. Though the pain filled scream of the mage behind them caused them both to turn and see a red pillar of fire surround him until he was reduced to nothing but ashes in a matter of seconds.

"You fucking bastard, ICE MAKE: LANCE!" shouted Gray as he sent ten spears at Salamander and before those ten could even hit him he sent ten more. He repeated this until he had sent a total of one hundred spears at the man causing him to feel so much anger at how easily he could kill someone. Gray probably would have kept going if Erza hadn't grabbed him from behind and restrained him so he could no longer cast anymore at Salamander who was no longer in sight because of the dust that Gray's attacks stirred up.

"Do you feel better now, because you're also in the same boat as Titania now Gray." came the voice of Salamander from inside of the cloud of dust.

"I do feel better, and you keep telling yourself that Natsu. I can't wait until we prove you wrong on that statement of yours!" shouted Gray as he tried to break free from Erza.

"For that to happen you'd have to kill me." whispered Salamander from right behind Erza. Causing her to let go of Gray and jump away from Salamander while also having one of her swords pointed at him.

"How did you do that?" she asked since she was intently watching for him to try something like that.

"Aren't you the curious one today, and to answer your very first question I killed him because he was no longer just human. So I couldn't take away all of his powers since curses work different than magic and that left me with the only option of killing him." he replied while adjusting his outfit that now had a few holes thanks to Gray.

"Like hell that was your only option!" shouted Gray as he glared at him.

"For once in your life Gray you're actually right, I could have let him live. But if I did that then there was a really good chance that half of Fairy Tail would have been destroyed along with all of Magnolia. Tartaros isn't a fan of your guild at all after what happened last time and they want to remove their biggest obstacle besides me of course. And honestly I couldn't care less since you guys have been a constant annoyance to me, but luckily for you guys there are a few people still there that I want to protect." he explained, causing both of them to have shocked expressions, one that Tartaros were apparently targeting them again. But the biggest one was that Salamander actually admitted that he wanted to protect at least someone again, which in Erza's opinion meant that Natsu was still definitely in there.

"Now on to your second question Erza." he said with a grin at their shocked expression as he went into a shadow to once again reappear behind the two of them.

"You ran into Sabretooth?" she asked while going back to her usual stern expression.

"That I did, they were in the process of eliminating my next guild that I had set my eyes on. Seems they weren't really fans of the save Natsu through research and trying to figure out who my mate was even after I told all of you to leave that topic alone." he answered in a deep tone as it became harder to breath because of the murderous intent and magic coming off of him. But in the next second it was gone and he was just standing there smirking at their slightly scared faces.

"Did you fight them?" asked Gray, trying to figure out how Salamander obtained Rogue's magic.

"Nope, they were both more than happy to give me their abilities which reminds me I should probably let Minerva know that her sorry excuse for a father will never bother her again." he replied with a smile as he sat down on the corpse of the man like it was an ordinary chair. Both of the other mages wanted to say something about it but decided that it wouldn't be worth their time since they had other things to say to him.

"Natsu why don't you come back to the guild now that you've pretty much gotten rid of most dark mages?" asked Erza with a hopeful look on her face.

"Sorry Titania, I can't do that so long as there is still a single dark guild left standing. And just so you know there are still quite a lot of them, they've just went into hiding now and are doing the same things as before just being more discreet about it." he stated while igniting his right hand on fire and watching the crimson flames dance about.

"What about after they're all gone?" she asked hesitantly.

"Then I can finally be at peace and none of you will have to worry about me again. Even though I think that you worrying about me now is kind of pointless and a little too late." he responded with a sad chuckle as he continued to watch his own flames.

"You're making it sound like you're going to die." she stated, hoping that he would deny it but all she received from him was silence as he continued to watch his flames. They all stayed like that for a few minutes until Gray had enough of this bullshit.

"What the fuck is wrong with you Natsu? You become a mass murder as soon as you escaped Rising Tide and seem to no longer care about the rest of your family or how much you're hurting them by doing all of this. But considering what you went through I can somewhat understand why you're doing all of this until just now. There is no way in hell that the Natsu I know would just give up once he's done with his job since there is always going to be another one after it." said Gray loudly as he glared at him.

"So are you saying that you want me to keep killing indefinitely?" asked Salamander without even looking at him.

"Hell no you crazy bastard, what I'm saying is that the old you would ever be fine with just ending it. He would work his ass off to make it up to everyone that he's hurt with his selfish little revenge mission." he stated while still glaring at him.

"I've already told you that Natsu is dead, he died with her on that day when he was too weak to protect the last thing he cared about. The only reason he was able to survive another year in that place was thanks to her giving him a new purpose other than just surviving." replied Salamander with a slight frown.

"So what, you fell in love and she died. Guess what Natsu you're not the only one that has happened to, so what gives you the right to use her as an excuse to start killing people?" he said causing Erza to let out a shocked gasp while Salamander let out a deep growl.

"Gray you are on thin ice and I suggest that you stop talking about things you know nothing about." growled out Salamander as his red flames were now all over him. As he got up the flames continued to burn away at the body he used to be sitting on that just added another flame in his backdrop as he glared at the ice mage.

"No I won't, you can't blame yourself for her death and take it out on everyone else. And I know this because I did the same thing with Ur, which I finally realized after receiving help from you all those years ago." he replied not backing away from him.

"This is nothing like that Gray, you were just a stupid kid back then and Ur chose to sacrifice herself for you. And in my case there was never a choice because if there was I would have killed myself in a second to save her. She never had a god damn say in any of it and was only brought there to hurt me!" he shouted as black flames started to mix with his crimson ones.

"Whatever, but do you really think she would want you to do all of this?" asked Gray only for him to be slammed into the ground as his throat felt like it was going to be burnt off.

"Gray!" screamed Erza as she rushed forwards but stopped as both of them were covered in a huge pillar of black and crimson flames.

"You don't know the first thing about her Grey, and it doesn't matter what she would want or think about this because she's dead. And that only happened because I was too stubborn to die in that place." he growled at Gray only an inch away from his face. Gray on the other hand was shocked by the fact that he wasn't getting burned right now and also by the pure hatred he could see in Salamander's eyes that glowed red.

"And do you know why that is Gray?" he asked while loosening his grip so the ice mage could actually talk.

"You never give up?" choked out Gray only for Salamander's grip on his throat to tighten back up once again.

"No you fucking moron, the only reason I didn't die in that place was because I still held out hope that you would all come and rescue me from there. But imagine my surprise once I finally get out and realize that you were all going about your regular business only looking for me once a month." he said while picking Gray up off of the ground and then throwing him through the his pillar flames that they were in and into the cave.

"Natsu stop!" screamed Erza as she watched Gray go flying into the cave as the pillar of fire dissipated with Salamander now heading for the cave clearly upset.

"If you interfere it will only make it worse for him." he replied as Gray got to his feet.

"Stay out of it Erza, this is between me and him ICE MAKE: CANNON!" shouted Gray but was surprised when nothing happened. This caused him to not notice a flaming kick coming at his head that then sent him crashing into one of the walls in cave. But before he could get back up a punch to the back of his head sent his face straight into the ground and a second later he felt a foot smash down on his right arm easily breaking it. All of this caused him to scream out in pain as Erza started to scream for Natsu to stop it but did nothing else in fear of what he would do if she didn't listen to him this time.

"You're probably wondering why you couldn't make your ice aren't you Gray? There's is one major flaw in your magic, if you can't even get the ice to start forming you'll never be able to create something at all. And that's what I'm doing to you right now, your ice was evaporating before it could even start to form." said Salamander as he picked Gray up again and gave him a few body shots and ended it with a punch to the face that sent him to the other side of the cave.

"Natsu please stop, you're going to kill him!" begged Erza who was once again feeling hopeless because of him. And this unfortunately had to happen just as she was beginning to believe that they might actually be able to get him close to how he was before.

"He's fine Erza, just a few broken bones that's only going to go up in number soon." he replied as he came up to Gray who was now in a sitting position.

"Come on Natsu just finish me off, it'll at least get the rest of the guild to stop hoping for some miracle if you do it." said Gray as he coughed out some blood as a flaming fist smashed into the wall right next to his head.

"I will never be one of them, even though the thought did cross my mind when I saw that what I considered to be my family not even caring about me after four years of pure hell. So rather than slaughtering all of you like I could have done that day I decided to turn that rage and hatred towards those that deserved it more than you traitors who left me there to rot." he said while glaring at the ice mage with his other fist drawn back ready to strike. But just when he was about to smash Gray's face a few more times into the wall he felt an ever so lightly tug on it.

"Please just stop!" begged Erza with tears running down her face as she looked into his glowing red eyes. But to both of the mages from Fairy Tail surprise the magic coming from Salamander instantly vanished along with his flames and glare. She watched as the lower half of his face turned into a sad smile as his eyes even lost their glow making it even harder to tell what emotions he might be having right now.

With a shaky hand he reached up slowly to her face and wiped away the tears on her left cheek with his thumb. Erza was completely stunned by this action since she was half expecting him to swat her away and go straight back to beating the shit out of Gray. But here he was tenderly getting rid of her tears just like he would have done four years ago if he ever saw her crying.

"Thank you." she whispered with a smile. And they were once again surprised by how he reacted upon hearing her speak again which was him backing away from her as his magic flared back up along with his glowing eyes.

"You're not her, she's dead because I was too weak!" he shouted while punching the wall over and over again in his rage.

"Natsu?" she asked now in an extremely concerned tone as she watched him savagely attack the wall.

"You're not her you hear me!" he screamed as all of his types of magic started to swirl around him. She would have thought it was beautiful if it didn't have such pain and sadness coming off of it as he screamed at the ceiling.

"We've got to go now!" shouted Gray as he grabbed her hand with is one good arm and started to drag her out of the cave. The whole time she couldn't help but watch as Salamander feel to his knees while still screaming out in anguish as if he was completely lost and no longer had a reason to live.

"We need to help him!' she shouted while trying to go back into the cave but was surprised when Gray somehow managed to throw her down the slope that led up to the cave. Only for him to jump right after her resulting with both of them to start tumbling down the slope until they were at least one hundred yards away.

"Gray wh…" started Erza until a huge explosion went off and threw them back another few yards. As she struggled back to her feet she was shocked to see a huge chunk of the mountain now gone with other parts now looking as if they caved in on the massive cave system that ran underneath them.

"That's why, if we had stayed we would have died right along with him." stated Gray as he winced in pain from all of his injuries.

"He's dead?" she asked while looking at the smoking crater where the entrance of the cave once stood.

"I don't think even he could live through something like that." he replied with a frown, since this wasn't supposed to end this way at all. They were supposed to help him be his old self once again even if it did require him getting his ass kicked by his old rival.

"No, there's no way that Natsu's dead." she said while going into the smoking crater with the intentions to start looking for him.

"I've already told you that Natsu died, the first half of him was gone when she was taken from him. The last part of him withered away when he realized he couldn't count on Fairy Tail, the place he believed to contain his family, and that it was just him like it has always been for him. But he was just too blind to realize it, some people are just destined to never belong and have to make their own path that they walk alone." said Salamander as he emerged from the smoke. Most of his clothing was ruined but somehow the hood of his cloak remained intact just enough to still hide his face from them.

"Natsu, I knew you would still be alive." said Erza as she went to go hug him but was stopped by a wall of fire springing up.

"Don't come any closer!" he growled at her as he slowly dispersed his flames.

"Why?" she asked just above a whisper.

"It's because he's afraid that he might mistake you once again as Subject 8, isn't that right?" stated Gray as he made his way to her side as Salamander just looked away.

"I remind you of her?" she asked in a shaky tone, now wondering if that was the real reason he didn't take her magic away from her. She also thought that it might also possibly be why he tried to take her out of the fight first so he wouldn't have to be reminded of his dead mate.

"You have nothing in common with her, it's just that you're hair reminds me of her. Her favorite color was red, I don't know if that's the reason my flames are that color now or if it's because of all the blood that I've now stained my hands with. But it's now become a constant reminder of her and why I'm doing all of this." he replied once again looking at his own crimson flames as they danced on the palm of his right hand.

"Natsu, I…" she started to say but was interrupted.

"I think we should end this little chat of ours right now before it only gets worse. Oh and by the way all of those explosives were going to be shipped into Magnolia over the next few weeks." he said while gesturing to the mountains that had sunk quite a bit after the explosion went off.

"Hey, we're not done talking here!" shouted Gray.

"Just because I can't kill you Gray doesn't mean I can't get you to moments away from it and heal you back up to do it all over again. Councilman Fujimoto had to deal with that for two months, it drove him to the point that he committed suicide when I left him alone one time." he replied while walking away from them not even sparing a glance at them. Gray was about to go after him but a firm grip on his shoulder and one look at Erza stopped him from trying to go after him.

 **Off in a different country:**

"So it looks like it's finally time Natsu." said a man with black hair sitting on a throne now having a small smile spread across his lips.

"What was that Emperor?" asked one of his guards.

"Nothing, but it seems like it's soon going to be time for a family reunion." he replied as he got up out of his throne.

"I thought all of your family died years ago?" asked the guard with an eyebrow raised.

"Not all, I still have a younger brother. And it would seem that in a few months we'll finally going to get to reunite with each other." he said as his smile grew.

"That will be quite the reunion." said the guard with a smile.

"That it will, afterwards I am guessing it will be the only thing that anyone talks about for a while." he replied while thinking to himself that he would finally be able to no longer be the cause of so much death and pain.

 **With Salamander:**

"How the hell could I mistake Erza for you?" he asked himself out loud as he descended down the mountain with a frown. Now feeling as if he betrayed her memory just by having those thoughts and the thoughts of getting a new mate, this thought was only put into his mind because of Fairy Tail and their constant meddling in his affairs. He let out a long sigh as he looked down at his disheveled appearance, wondering if he was ever going to be reduced to this state at the hands of someone other than himself.

"Would you be disgusted by my current actions?" he questioned while looking off in the distance. Even though he told Gray that it didn't matter what she would think about him now since she was dead, it was actually a constant question that he asked himself every day. It was also one of his biggest motivations to only lash out at dark mages unlike what his inner dragon was telling him to do, which was to watch the world burn as they were all forced to go through the pain that he still feels now. But he knew that she wouldn't have been able to look at him with those caring eyes of hers if he ever did something like that, so he made a compromise that he felt would appease both of them. And that was simply the destruction of all dark mages, the people that destroyed his whole world in ways they couldn't have predicted such as the betrayal he felt at seeing Fairy Tail continuing on as if he was just a fleeting memory of the distant past.

"Because I got to be with you till the very end Natsu." he heard her voice in his head as her final moments flashed before his eyes. Her smile that he would never forget, that told him she was actually happy that she got to be with him till she passed on from this world. It also told him that she truly did love him as much as he loved her, if only they had met again outside of that god forsaken hell hole. Just remembering Rising Tide brought back so much hatred and anger in him that he knew he needed to find a dark guild fast before some unfortunate person or animal became the object that he vented all of his frustration out on.

"Oh my God, it's really you!" shouted a younger man wearing a hooded sweatshirt with Salamander's calling card on it.

"It would be wise for you to not be near me." growled out Salamander as he walked by the excited man.

"You just destroyed that mountain didn't you?" asked the guy now walking next to Salamander.

"Yes I did, but it wasn't enough since I ran into some people from my past. So unless you are volunteering to be my next target get away from me so I can find a person worthy of my anger." he replied while giving the guy a glare that would usually have his enemies on their knees begging for mercy. But it appeared completely ineffective on the man in front of him that now had a bigger smile on his face than before.

"As much of an honor as it would be for me to be your punching bag I think I can be of some help to you." said the man as he pulled out a map with few red X's on it.

"How so?" asked Salamander as he looked at the map and instantly memorized the locations of the marks.

"Simple, I'm part of the Salamander Clan and thanks to having all of those members we get a lot of information from the citizens and even from the bandits that we are mainly dealing with. And that sometimes includes the location of dark guilds that are trying to hide from you." he explained with a sly grin.

"Thanks kid, I'll be heading to the nearest one." stated Salamander as a smirk spread across his lips since it would only take him a little over an hour to get to the dark guild.

"I won't tell you the locations of them unless you take me with you." he said with confident grin.

"You don't need to; I saw all of them when you first brought out that map kid. But if you're able to keep giving me more information like this in the future I'll bring you along sometimes." responded Salamander before taking off at his speeds and leaving the guy all alone with a happy grin spread across his face.

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it even though it took forever for me to do this one. And I apologize for that but what can I say, a few of my other stories have inspired me more than this one has which is why I haven't written for it in a while. It'll probably be a once a month release and I hope to have it wrapped up by chapter 20. Well that's it I guess so don't hesitate to send me a review or PM and I'll try to respond as quick as I can.**

 **Until the next Chapter**

 **Digem Out!**


	13. The Mixed Emotions

Ch 13: The Mixed Emotions

 **A week later at Fairy Tail:**

"And then he walked off still upset with himself I think." said Gray as he tried to scratch at an itch under his cast. Not noticing the shocked looks of his fellow guild members after hearing what happened to him and Erza on their first encounter with Salamander since the Council incident.

"Did that really happen?" asked Mira with a hopeful expression.

"Of course it did, I have the goddamn wounds to prove it and if you don't believe me why don't you just ask Erza." replied the ice mage as he continued to try and scratch his irritated skin under his cast.

"Juvia will get that for you." Said Juvia with a bright smile as she sent a small stream of water underneath his cast and to areas he never would have been able to reach on his own.

"We would Gray, but after bringing you here yesterday she just took off and we haven't seen her since." stated Makarov with a worried look on his face. Wondering if the Knight came to the same conclusion that he and Mira just did after hearing what transpired a week ago.

"Well it's all true, and as much as it pains me to admit, but Salamander is correct about me being completely useless against him now. And man I really wish Wendy was not avoiding the guild right now along with the rest of the dragon slayers." he said, knowing that if she was here right now he wouldn't even be in a cast.

"You only have yourself to blame for that." declared Mira as she glared at the ice mage.

"Gray-sama did nothing wrong." replied Juvia as she sent the bar maid a glare.

"It's okay Juvia, and I know Mira." he agreed with a frown coming over his face. "And I plan to fix that before it gets any worse, like what happened with Natsu while he was gone from the guild." he continued as his frown only grew, and the rest of the members gathered there had their own. It became one of the few things that the whole guild could agree on, all now regretting that they hadn't put more effort into looking for him while he was gone, with some of them imagining how hurt he must have been when he found out that they were barely doing anything to find him.

"None of you are to blame for that, I told you all to not worry about him and even forced a few of you to stop looking for him. All because I believed he was just out training to get stronger, and because of that the Salamander was born." said Makarov with a frown and a guilty look coming over his tired face.

"Master you never could have guessed he was captured." pointed out Mira, knowing that it was most likely not going to help their elderly Master. Who over the past few months looked like he aged by at least five years and rarely ever smiled or even drank anymore.

The small group remained silent for a few moments in the hopes that Makarov would agree with her, or at least say something in response to it. But all he did was keep looking down at his own hands in shame, most likely believing that all the blood spilt by Salamander was on his hands for not saving Natsu when he needed them the most.

"By the way, where's the research team anyways?" asked Gray, wanting to get rid of the awkward silence that had just fallen over them. And the easiest way for him to do that was to ask about Lucy, Levy and Freed not being there with them on their weekly discussion about Salamander.

"Freed believed the Council might have missed something at the guild hall of Rising Tide. So he and the other two decided to head there and see if he was correct about his hunch." replied Mira with a slight smile, remembering how hopeful the three were when they left a few days ago.

"Fat chance that the Council missed anything, also isn't that place destroyed or something different by now?" he asked back after giving Juvia an appreciative smile for her help on getting rid of his itch.

"It would have been if the Salamander Clan didn't make a big fuss over it and eventually purchase it. They haven't done anything with it yet and are waiting for Salamander to personally tell them what to do with that horrid place." she explained with a hint of venom in her voice, not directed at the Salamander Clan but at the place that started all of their current troubles.

"Are they even going to let those three into it?" he asked, surprised that the three weren't already back here complaining about that group turning them down.

"The Salamander Clan for some reason holds Fairy Tail in the highest regards and would almost do anything for any one of our members." stated Cana since she has interacted with them probably the most out of the current members gathered here today.

"And the reason for that is because they know how much Natsu cared about Fairy Tail before he became Salamander. It might also be because they still think he cares about us in his current state and don't want to possibly anger their Hero and Master." explained Gildarts before Gray could even ask why.

"That group is really odd, it's almost as if it's some sort of cult just waiting for their crazed leader to return to them." said the ice mage with a confused expression on his face, not really knowing how to feel about a group forming around Natsu in his current state. All of it done without him doing a single thing to start it other than constantly eliminating dark guilds in the most brutal ways imaginable.

"All of them are just waiting for their leader to tell them his wishes." continued Cana, who knew that most of their members were good people. But she also knew how easy it would be to lead most of them down a path that they normally would have never gone down by themselves.

"If it's not Salamander then someone claiming to speak for him." replied Makarov now having a disgusted look on his face.

"What do you mean by that Master?" asked Mira, once again not liking what her brain instantly jumped to on its own.

"A few days ago one of the supposed founders of the Salamander Clan claimed that Natsu came to him, and he went on to say that Salamander appointed him the temporary Master while he continues his work. This of course caused a huge change in how things were being run over there, no longer is there a meeting where they discuss what actions they should take. Now all of that stuff is decided by one man who we have no idea if he was actually picked by Salamander." he explained while continuing to have that disgusted look on his face the entire time.

"And how exactly do you know all of this?" asked Gildarts as he set down the bottle that he used to be drinking out of. No longer was he trying to drown himself in booze to numb the guilt he felt about all of this, no Gildarts was somehow almost back to his old reckless and cheery self. All it seemed to take for him to go back to how he used to be was that little visit he had with the dragon slayer and possibly a few more. Something that the guild was still trying to figure out since he would occasionally go missing for a day, only to return the next day as if he was the happiest man alive.

"The Council and the rest of the other guilds have been keeping a keen eye out on the Salamander Clan for this exact thing." he replied while shaking his head.

"Do you have any plans of how to deal with this new leader if he starts to abuse his new power?" asked Mira, only for her to see by the look Makarov had on his face that they didn't. This once again caused an uncomfortable silence to fall over their group again that is until Ultear decided to speak up about something she noticed after Gray finished his tale of what happened to him and Erza.

"So why did you look so happy Mira after hearing what happened to the two of them when they met Natsu?" she asked with an eyebrow raised as she and everyone else looked at the barmaid. Who now looked a little embarrassed by all of the attention quickly turning on her just like that.

"Yeah, why did you look so happy?" asked Gray. Who was going to bring it up at the time but got sidetracked when the topic of Erza not returning to the guild was brought up.

"I don't know if I should really say it since it's only just a hunch and I could easily be wrong." stated the barmaid in an unsure tone that was completely out of character for her.

"Considering that it is dealing with him, I'd be more concerned if you weren't uncertain about whatever it is that you figured out after Gray's story." replied Cana with a small smirk that only Gildarts mimicked.

"I still don't know if I should." she said while looking at Makarov, who gave her an approving nod to fill the rest of them in on their current theory.

"Okay then, after hearing what happened at the end of Gray's retelling of what happened to him and Erza. I think that we might have figured out our best candidate for a possible mate for Natsu, which is if he's even able to have another one that is." she finished with a small yet hopeful smile. She was the only one to have that expression, with most of them only having a confused look on their faces after hearing this from her.

"Holy crap, you don't think she could actually be his mate!" shouted Cana with a now completely shocked look coming over her face. And she wasn't the only one to figure out who the barmaid was hinting at being his next mate, all of them having just as shocked expressions as her.

"Who in the hell are you talking about?" asked Gray, the only one who somehow couldn't piece all of this together.

"Who else could it be other than the woman he has already mistaken as his previous mate." she replied while also throwing an empty bottle at the stupid ice mage.

"Erza, you've gotta be kidding me!" he shouted back after easily dodging the bottle thrown at him.

"We're not Gray, and I have a feeling she might have realized that during your trip back here. Which is why she hasn't come back to the guild and is trying to figure all of this out on her own." said Mira with a concerned look coming over her face once again. Because she knew that Erza would definitely have a hard time processing all of this on her own, especially if her hunch that the knight used to have feelings for the dragon slayer was correct.

"Fuck, why can't anything ever be easy with Flame Brain." he mumbled as he took a seat, having no idea what Erza's response to all of this would be.

"If I didn't know any better I would say the poor lad has a curse on him. Throughout his whole life he's had to constantly deal with losing those that he holds dear, all of which would be enough to cause any normal person to give up just from one of them. But Natsu is a fighter, who won't give up even if it might appear that he finally has." stated Gildarts with a large smile that caught most of them slightly off guard since it wasn't caused by copious amounts of liquor.

"Gildarts, what are you not telling us?" asked Makarov now glaring at the Ace of his guild, clearly intent on figuring out exactly what was going on.

"A lot, but what I can tell you is that after my few meetings with Salamander I know that without a single doubt he's still in there and giving it his all. If he wasn't then the rest of Fiore wouldn't be viewing him as a hero and would most likely be completely terrified of him and wondering why the Council isn't stopping him from rampaging across the country and destroying everything in his path." he explained still smiling.

"You're not going to tell us any more are you?" asked Mira, who was also smiling because if Gildarts had such faith in him then she would too. The crash mage just shook his head no as he went back to drinking with his daughter all the while still having a slight smile on his face.

"I also have to concur with Gildarts on this one as well, despite Salamander trying to constantly convince us that the old Natsu is gone for good. His actions pertaining to a few of us shows it's anything but that, otherwise I wouldn't be standing here right now. When we all know he could have killed me and no one would have even realized it, but instead he gave me back my youth and the opportunity to atone for my past wrongdoings." said Ultear, glad to see that a few of the members seemed to have hopeful looks after hearing her words.

"That does sound like the old Natsu." stated Gray, who was one of the few still not smiling. But it was mainly because he didn't want to get his hopes up just yet, because even if Natsu was still in there just a bit it wouldn't even matter if they couldn't bring him back out. And apparently a lot of that depended on Erza possibly being his mate, even if she was they still didn't know what she would do with this new information.

"I think that concludes this meeting for today everyone and we'll have another one when our research team returns." said Makarov as he stood up and headed to his office as everyone else separated and headed off to do their own things.

 **On a cliff that used to have Lisanna's Tombstone:**

After Lisanna's return from Edolas, she and Natsu decided to remove her gravestone and replace it with a small flower bed that contained pink and white roses. And ever since then it was looked after with the utmost care by the two of them, except for when the Tenrou Group went missing. But one of the first things that Natsu did after returning with the rest of them was coming back to this place and fixing it up to his standards. Standards that most of the guild would find shocking if they learned about how well he maintained the flowers and the small hut from their childhood.

There was only a select few that knew of this, or that if he was ever upset or need to be by himself that he would most likely end up here. The whole Strauss family knew of this since they were all really close to the dragon slayer and even considered him a member of their immediate family. Of course Happy knew about all of this too since he was usually glued to the side of the pink haired man when he was a member of Fairy Tail, but there was only one more person that knew about this side of him. And that was none other than Erza Scarlet, the only reason she ever stumbled across this side of Natsu was due to her trailing him a long time ago.

She was currently kneeling in front of the small flower bed, thinking back to when she first found out about this place and what circumstances that led her to here.

 **X782:**

 _It was just two weeks after they all thought that Lisanna had died and things were finally starting to go back to how they once were at the guild. And the biggest contributor to getting that to happen was Natsu, he was somehow able to get both Mira and Elfman to stop beating themselves up over what happened and actually return to the guild. And at the guild he was also able to make everyone else realize that the last thing that Lisanna would have ever wanted any of them to do was be sad over her passing away. So the loving idiot did everything that he could to make everyone laugh and have fun again, and since it was Natsu doing this of course meant starting a brawl whenever he could._

 _But there was one person that noticed he was definitely still hurting on the inside, but since he always cared more about his fellow guild members more than himself he did his best to hide it. Choosing to sneak away while everyone was distracted and head into the woods to disappear for a few hours, only to return and pretend like he was never gone in the first place. All of this was observed by Erza, who could only imagine how hard this was on the poor dragon slayer who was the closest to Lisanna, next to her actual siblings of course. But after following him for the past week she finally came upon the little memorial he made for her as he was sitting in front of it with a sad smile as he talked with her about what happened since yesterday._

 _This of course shocked the scarlet knight, so much so that she remained there completely motionless as Natsu continued to talk with his first friend at the guild as if she was there with him. And after he finished talking with her, he remained there with that same sad smile looking at the setting sun for a few minutes in silence. During which, Erza realized that she might have intruded on a very personal moment for him and tried to sneak away before she was found out. And considering who she was watching it might be too late for that, which was proven to be correct when she took her first step and he spoke up._

 _"She told me this was her favorite spot in the whole world." he said in a sad tone as he continued to watch the sun slowly setting. Erza was hoping that he was just saying this out loud and that she could still sneak away, but she knew that was just wishful thinking on her part as she turned back to look at him._

 _"At first I couldn't figure out why she liked it up here so much, I mean it doesn't have anything that extraordinary about it that would set it apart from anywhere else in the world." he said looking at the scarlet knight with his eyes that usually looked so bright and full of life. But what Erza could see in them right now could only be described as dull and that of someone who was in immense pain, someone that looked as if they were ready to give up. Things that she had never seen in him and wished she would never see again, since he was probably the guild's most positive and upbeat member so how he looked right now was just wrong._

 _"But now I think she liked it up here because from up here it looks so peaceful and perfect. As if nothing could possibly go wrong and that each and every day will continue to be like that, something that I know is far from the truth." he continued with a sad chuckle as he went back to looking out at the sun setting over Magnolia. Erza honestly didn't know what to say to the broken dragon slayer before her, feelings were never a strong point for her. Something that she would actually say he was better at dealing with than her, even if the dragon slayer didn't say anything to you he was still somehow able to make you feel better. It was just one of the things that made him special, so now she found herself staring him down when he was the one that needed to be comforted._

 _"Can I take a seat?" she asked quietly as she approached him. Watching as he decided to not look at her and motion with a hand that it was okay as he had a distant look in his eyes. So she did just that and remained sitting next to him, not knowing what to do in a situation like this since it was all new to her. But after a few minutes of silence with him, someone that until just now she didn't even know if he could remain quite for more than a minute, she decided to try and talk with him._

 _"How are you feeling Natsu?" she asked, instantly berating herself for asking such a stupid question. Of course he was sad and upset, his best friend only died two weeks ago and she just happened to stumble upon him conversing with her like he used to do at the guild on a daily basis._

 _"Fine I guess." came his reply in a dull tone that didn't sound right coming from him of all people._

 _"Natsu." she stated in her commanding tone. The one that she uses on him when he and Happy are getting into trouble, or when she wanted to hear the truth from him. Once again Erza felt terrible that she was being so callous with him, but it was just how she was with everyone in the guild._

 _But to her surprise he remained quiet for a few moments to then let out a long sigh. "Terrible Erza, this is the second time that the most important person in my life just vanished in the blink of an eye. Actually it's the third time if you count my parents leaving me out in the woods to die." he replied with a sad and broken chuckle._

 _"Natsu I…" started Erza in her gentlest tone possible, but apparently he wasn't done._

 _"What's wrong with me, what keeps causing this to happen to me? Am I that much of a disappointment or weakling that this is going to be how the rest of my life is? Because if that's the case then I might as well…" he said now with tears streaming down his cheeks. But before he could finish that last statement, his head was slammed into something hard which was the breastplate of the already famous Titania._

 _"Don't you finish that sentence Natsu." she demanded while trying to not start crying along with him. Once again she was caught off guard by this whole situation, because from how he was acting at the guild she never would have guessed he was in this much pain._

 _"What happened to Lisanna was an accident that had nothing to do with you." she continued while holding him in what she thought was a comforting hug._

 _"But if I had gone with her maybe I could have stopped it." he stated while not even trying to get out of her uncomfortable hug._

 _"For all we know then it could have been you who died." she replied, knowing that Natsu wasn't the only one thinking about how things would have been different if he had done something different._

 _"That would have been better." he mumbled just loud enough for her to hear. Something that he knew she heard when his face was then slammed into the ground._

 _"How can you even think that Natsu, everyone at Fairy Tail cares for you and would be just as upset if it was you that died. And as long as you're a member of Fairy Tail you'll never be lonely again since we look after each other." she shouted at him while glaring as he picked himself up. But rather than seeing an upset dragon slayer like she thought, he had a small but genuine smile on his face as he looked back at her._

 _"I'm pretty lucky aren't I? And thanks for hitting some sense into me Erza, Lisanna did always say that you were one of few people that could get through my thick skull." he replied while scratching the back of his head and still having that slight smile._

 _"You're welcome, and you know she would never blame you for what happened and would just want to see you go back to your happy and hyper self." she stated with a slight smile of her own, noticing that his smile seemed to slightly get bigger after she smiled back at him._

 _"I know that, but it's hard to go back to how it once was when I'll always be reminded of her." he said while once again going back to looking over Magnolia._

 _"It'll get easier with each and every day." she replied, having realized that it was true in her case after joining Fairy Tail. But that didn't mean she forgot about all her friends at the tower that she swore to one day go back to and free them from that terrible place._

 _"Sounds like you're speaking from experience." he commented while not looking back at there, something that she was grateful for since she became a complete bumbling mess after he said that._

 _"I hope you're correct about that anyways Erza. I really don't think I could stand feeling like this for the rest of my life, well thanks again for coming out here and checking to make sure that I'm okay." he said with a smile appearing on his face again._

 _"Any time Natsu, and like I was saying earlier, since you're a member of Fairy Tail we'll always be there for you." she said while getting up to leave the young man to his thoughts._

 _"That's just one of the many reasons why I love our guild." he stated as she started to head back into the woods and back towards the guild._

 **Back to the present:**

"Why didn't I look for you harder? We all knew that you wouldn't just leave without saying anything to any of us, but we all just continued on as if you would show up any day with that stupid grin of yours plastered to your face as you kick open the door." thought Erza as she looked at the flowers swaying ever so slightly in the wind.

"This is one of my favorite spots in the whole world, actually it definitely is my favorite one." said Lisanna with her angelic smile, causing Erza to actually let out a little shout in surprise.

"Sorry Erza, I didn't mean to scare you. I decided I needed some time to think and the next thing I knew I was here watching you in deep thought." she said while still smiling at the knight.

"It's fine, you just caught me off guard and I've been told about that." said Erza with a slight frown.

"When did Natsu tell you?" asked the youngest Strauss as she took the spot next to Erza's left side. She knew that he was the only one who actually knew that this was her favorite spot, since it was where the two of them raised Happy and were a little family of their own.

"It was a few weeks after we all thought you were dead." she answered, noticing the look of guilt flash across Lisanna's face. Clearly she still felt bad about all the pain she caused them when she went to Edolas all those years ago, and even apologized to the guild about it once she returned to them.

"From what everyone else has told me, he was responsible for getting everyone back to normal. But I have a feeling that he did what he always does and was more worried about everyone else while he tried to deal with it all on his own." said Lisanna with a knowing look, something that the two Strauss women were extremely good at doing.

"You'd be correct, that idiot was always more concerned about the guild." she replied with a slight frown.

"Don't you mean he is always more concerned about us?" stated Lisanna with a small grin as a look of shock came over the knight's face.

"If he didn't then he would have succumbed to his grief and rage like Wendy and Gajeel expected him to after learning what he went through." she continued, glad to see the scarlet beauty nod her head in agreement.

"A part of me knows that, but after everything he's done recently." said Erza only for her to trail off and have a sad and guilty look come over her face.

"You're afraid that he'll always be like this and possibly even become worse?" she asked, nailing Erza's fear right on the head. This caused the usually confident re-equip mage to look at the white haired take-over mage with a hopeful expression.

"Unfortunately with how things are going that could easily happen." finished Lisanna and for the first time since they started talking had a frown of her own.

"Why didn't we look for him like he would have done for us?" she asked while looking at the roses with the same color as his hair.

"Are you still beating yourself up over that? Even if we did spend every second looking for him none of us would have ever thought to suspect a supposedly legal guild like Rising Tide." replied Lisanna, having already gone over this by herself hundreds of times and finally coming to that conclusion.

"You don't understand Lisanna." she stated in an angry tone as she turned away so Lisanna couldn't see her face anymore.

"What don't I understand exactly?" asked Lisanna, now concerned about what happened to Erza and Gray on their last excursion to track down Salamander.

"We're the reason he's this way, we're the reason Salamander is brutally killing any dark mage he can get his hands on!" she shouted while getting up and having her back to her white haired friend.

"It's not our fault Erza, all of this is happening because of what those terrible people at Rising Tide did to him." stated Lisanna, since it was what she had been telling herself this whole time.

"But it isn't Lisanna, when he was counting on us we let him down and because of that he now believes he's all by himself with on one to count on. And everything we've tried to do up to this point has only made it harder on him and is only pushing him farther away from us." she replied, while having a hard time trying to keep her emotions in check. They were raging from intense anger to soul crushing guilt that they, and more specifically her, wasn't there for Natsu like he had been there for them so many times when they all needed him the most.

"You don't know that, and I bet if he was in his normal state of mind he'd be saying the same thing. He would also probably be saying that none of this is our fault and we need to stop beating ourselves up over this." said the take-over mage with a small smile, that only lasted until she saw Erza's face as she turned to look at her. Right now standing before her was probably one of the strongest women she's ever known next to her older sister, but her current state would say otherwise. Erza looked like a complete mess of conflicting emotions, with the most prominent ones being sadness and guilt.

"But he isn't in his right set of mind and hasn't been for six months, not only that but I do know that he feels completely alone right now and it is because of us." she replied no longer being able to contain her tears that started to stream down her face. All of her pent up anger and sadness over the past six months were now coming flooding out of her, luckily she happened to be with someone who could handle a situation like this.

Without saying a word Lisanna brought Erza into a loving embrace and brought her to a sitting position so they could spend the next few minutes together. Erza crying her eyes out while Lisanna continued to hug her and occasionally whisper comforting words back to her while making sure that the knight knew it was okay to let it all out. This took almost a full hour, which is actually quite short when considering that this was the buildup of almost six months' worth of emotions.

"So could you fill me in on what happened when you last saw him?" asked Lisanna quietly as the two now sat next to each other looking at the flower bed in front of them. She could instantly tell that Erza didn't really want to talk about it, but before she could tell the woman that it was okay if she didn't want to Erza launched into what transpired a week ago. And to Lisanna's surprise she even told her what she started to suspect on her trip back and how that only made everything even more confusing than it already was.

"Wow, that is definitely not what I was expecting." stated the youngest Strauss with a shocked expression still on her face.

"I know, but I could be wrong about me possibly being a potential mate for him." replied Erza as she looked over at Lisanna to see what she thought about it.

"I don't think you are Erza, it would explain why he didn't take away your magic even though he threatened to do it a few times that first time we confronted him." she said as a small smirk made its way across her lips, something that the knight instantly took notice of and had to turn away from.

"That's ridiculous, if I was his mate then why didn't he realize it before." argued Erza, trying to come up with a logic argument to all of this since it would only make her life more complicated than it already is. Not to mention that her feelings right now for said dragon slayer weren't ideal for possibly starting a relationship with him.

"You know how dense he could be, what if he only realized Subject 8 was his mate because of their circumstances. I mean, he also knew her from before she was brought there and yet he didn't know she was his mate until way later." she refuted right back as her smirk only grew.

"He was pretty dense, he didn't notice the obvious hints that you left him when we were little." stated Erza with a slight smile, but after realizing what she just said and to whom a look of horror washed over her face. But it too was quickly lost at hearing the sounds of Lisanna bursting into laughter that lasted for a good minute.

"It's fine Erza, I realized after coming back that Natsu and I were never going to end up together like I used to dream about when I was little. I honestly suspected him to end up with Lucy with how close they were, but it kind of makes sense that he would be with you." she said with a warm and honest smile as she looked at the scarlet beauty.

"What?" asked Erza, not being able to come up with anything else to say at the moment. Mainly due to her being stunned with how calm and happy Lisanna was while saying all of that about the person she used to love, and actually still might for all she knows.

"You two are almost like complete opposites, yet also somehow exactly the same at the same time." she answered only to let out a small giggle at Erza's confused expression.

"He was always a hyperactive and over all giant goofball that could rile the whole guild up, while you on the other hand are usually calm and collected with the innate ability to bring back order to the guild just with a glare. But both of you are willing to do anything to protect the guild and make sure everyone there is happy and safe. Not only that but both of you are extremely stubborn and a little clueless about how to interact with people under certain situations." she explained with a bright smile as Erza contemplated what she was just told.

"I guess I could see that, but that was before all of this happened." stated Erza as a depressing frown spread across her lips and the rest of her face.

"Erza I want to you to look at me." said Lisanna in a commanding tone that surprised the knight into doing as she was told.

"Can you honestly tell me that you believe the Natsu that we both loved isn't still in there?" she asked with a stern look directed at her friend.

"I didn't love him like you did." mumbled Erza as she looked away as the faintest blush made an appearance.

"Yes you did and I still think you do Erza, but that's something we can talk about later. Now I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me one way or the other about Natsu still being himself." she said in a tone that reminded Erza of how Mira used to talk with her when they had their rivalry.

"I don't know Lisanna, the stuff that he has done and keeps doing goes against everything that Fairy Tail and I stand for." she replied while looking away from her white haired friend.

"It's arguably way better than what Jellal did, yet you forgave him and even had feelings for him." stated Lisanna still having a stern expression on her face. This of course was one of the main reasons why Erza was having so much trouble with all of this, because she knew that logically it should have been just as easy for her to forgive Natsu. But for some reason it just didn't seem to be that way, and she was suspected that it might have to do with Jellal once again betraying her and she didn't know if she could handle that happening with Natsu.

"If you are his mate Erza, you know there is no way he would ever betray you like Jellal did." said Lisanna as her stern look turned to one of concern. Erza was a little shocked at hearing this, making her wonder if the two Strauss sisters could both read minds a little bit since this wasn't the first time something like this happened.

"But what if he does?" asked Erza as she looked up at Lisanna questioningly.

"He won't Erza, and we still don't know if you are even his second mate. Even if you aren't I know for a fact that he still won't betray you or anyone else from Fairy Tail if we can ever get him back. Because the one thing that will never change about him is that he'll do anything for his family. And unfortunately right now that means he has to keep doing what he's doing right now for the two that he lost that day." she answered with a frown, trying hard to not break down and cry at how awful Natsu's life has been when compared to most.

For some reason Erza had never thought about the situation that way before, but now that she had it all started to make a little more sense to her. Lisanna was correct about Natsu literally doing anything for his family, and unfortunately for him he gained two more only for them to be taken away right before his very eyes. This was something that she has tried to put herself in that situation, but came to the conclusion that you could never really know how you would react to something like that unless it actually happened. But then if you add on the whole dragon slayer thing it is a miracle that they now have the Salamander and not some new dark being terrorizing the whole country.

"So Erza, look me in the eyes and just try and tell me that he still isn't in there waiting for us once again to save him." said Lisanna once again giving the knight a stern look as they gazed into each other's eyes.

"I can't Lisanna, I also know that you're correct and he's in there and needs us." declared Erza with a new look of determination coming over her.

"Now that's more like the Erza that we all know and love, so let's head back to the guild and see what the new plans are." she said while getting up and offering her a hand, which Erza accepted with a smile.

"We could also go shopping to possibly get you a new outfit that he would love seeing you in." teased Lisanna as she took off towards the guild with a little snicker.

"For the last time Lisanna I don't like him in that way." stated Erza as she glared at the woman out of her grasp.

"Sure you don't, you definitely don't have all these conflicting feelings going on in your head about him. That resulted in what just happened when I got here." sang Lisanna as she disappeared into the woods. She left behind a still very confused and slightly flustered knight to her own thoughts as she followed after her.

 **At the bottom of a canyon on the other side of Fiore:**

"I've just got one final question for you Briar, when I kill one of these clones does that mean you can no longer have that emotion anymore?" asked Salamander as he held up the beaten from of Briar that embodied sadness by her head.

"Why yes it would my love." stated the Briar now in love with him.

"Shut the hell up!" shouted Raging Briar as she struggled to get back to her feet. She was having a really hard time with it since Salamander thought it would be fun to infect her with his poison so she had to watch him man handle the rest of herself, which was now just love and sadness.

"Interesting, I guess that explains why you were forced to pull out emotions that were as weak as these two." he said while crushing the head of the Briar in his clutches with just his bare hand. And in the next second he plunged his other hand straight through the Briar that was in love with him for some reason.

"I'm going to fucking murder you and everyone that you love!" shouted out the last Briar now leaning up against the canyon's wall.

"Well that is something I'd really like to see, since it has already been done to me. Oh and the likelihood of you accomplishing that is an absolute impossibility, given that you're going to die in the next few seconds." he replied as both of the Briars he just killed fell to the ground, making a sickening thud as they connected with it.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that Salamander." came the feminine voice of someone just around the bend in the canyon as he staggered ever so slightly.

"Right now all of your internal organs are starting to fail you as we speak. Usually I would enjoy toying around with you more, but you've proven to be quiet the advisory for us recently." stated Mary as she rounded the corner with a cheerful smile on her face. Briar watched in disbelief as Salamander fell to his knees and started to cough up copious amounts of blood.

"Who would have thought that the golden boy of Fairy Tail would become one of Fiore's most famous killers? Honestly Salamander I hate to do this to someone as skilled in the craft of killing as you, but unfortunately the rest of Tartaros has decided to dispose of you." she stated with a smug look of superiority.

"Is that so Mary? Sorry to disappoint you but today isn't the day that I'm going to die, but it just so happens to be the day that you do." replied Salamander as he slowly stood back up and had a wicked grin plastered across his mug as he looked back at her with his glowing red eyes.

"That's not possible, all of your organs should be failing you right now!" she shouted while throwing a childish temper tantrum.

"My very existence should be impossible but here I stand. **DEATH DRAGON'S FERAL STRIKE**." he whispered as a jet of black shot from his right arm and connected with the stunned Briar, who wasn't even able to let out a scream. Mary watched as the last remaining Briar went through the rest of her natural life in a split second, resulting with the woman turning into dust before her very eyes.

"DIE YOU MONSTER!" screamed Mary as she sent her virus at Salamander, no longer willing to take any more chances with someone so deadly. But rather than falling to the floor instantly dead like most people did when she targeted their brain, he remained completely upright and his grin only grew in size.

"Your final trump card didn't work on me Mary, so what are you going to do now?" he asked in an menacing voice, causing the girl to let out a scream and take off running in the direction that she came from. And she kept running as fast as she could until she was fairly confident that he wasn't chasing after her anymore.

"There's no way that man is even remotely human anymore." Mary said to herself as she bent over and tried to regain her breath.

"I'd like to think that I have just a little bit of humanity left in me, at least more than any of the pieces of filth that I've been disposing of that is." came the voice of Salamander from right behind her. She let out a terrified scream as she whirled around but was met with absolutely nothing and no signs of him ever being there.

"It's just got to be my imagination getting the better of me." she stated in an unsure and shaky voice.

"Sorry but I'm very real my dear little Mary." he said again right in her ear, allowing her to feel his breath on her. That elicited the same reaction from her with the addition of her taking off again and running until she physically couldn't anymore. But unlike the last time she ran from the monster after her, this time she could constantly hear an eerie whistling coming from where she was fleeing from.

"Why, why are you doing this?" she asked in between pants as the whistling continued to draw nearer to her.

"It's my purpose for still existing in this cruel and terrible world. I am the monster that devours the other monsters of the world that prey on the weak and helpless. Just like you and every other dark mage out there, and I was actually slightly surprised to learn that Avatar joined up with the new Tartaros." replied Salamander once again from behind her, but this time actually being there when she turned.

"You're just as fucked up as they say you are." she stated while glaring up at him with pure hatred and contempt.

"I would probably guess that I'm even more fucked up than that actually, but what do you expect after everything that I've been through over the past few years." he said while leaning up against a large jagged edge of the canyon wall.

"Why haven't you killed me by now?" asked Mary, seeing no purpose in toying with her after finding out that she couldn't kill him for some reason.

"After I started this cleansing of mine, on some of the people that I know a little better like you and Briar. I've decided to make your deaths a little more personal and if at all possible mimic what you've enjoyed doing to others." he said as he knelt down next to her, enjoying the look of terror in her eyes that then turned to pain filled as he placed his seal on her. Causing her to start screaming out in pain as her magic was being torn from her as she writhed on the ground beneath him.

"Now I usually don't take the magic away from someone I plan on killing, but since I don't understand your whole virus thing completely I decided it would be better to be safe rather than sorry." he said with a little chuckle as she continued to be in immense amount of pain. "So like I was saying I try to mimic what you do to your victims and since I don't have the ability to give you a virus like you do. I decided that the next best thing would be to infect you with my poison after I'm confident you can't counter it with your own magic." he explained as he coated both of his hands in poison that had hints of his crimson flames mixed in with it.

She couldn't believe how much pain she was in and was starting to wish that Salamander would just finish her off. When out of nowhere it started to lessen and even start to feel good, finding this extremely odd she opened back up her eyes and was met with him smirking down at her. "Now that you're almost as good as new, time for round two." he stated before putting a hand over her mouth and forcing his poison and slight flames down her throat and affectively into the rest of her entire body.

"Okay Mary, I've just given you more than enough poison to kill you by the end of the hour. And just so you know it wouldn't matter if you had the best healers in the country with you in the next few seconds. I've added my flames to help make the process even more painful than just the poison alone." he stated while standing back up as the young dark mage squirmed in pain at his feet.

"Sooner or later you're going to die Salamander." she hissed out while trying her best to not scream out in pain like she assumed he wanted her to.

"That is the one absolute rule for all humans, but like you said earlier Mary. I'm not human anymore so I don't play by those rules anymore, and even if I do die it'll be after all your kind has gone before me." he stated while walking away from her.

"Like hell it will Salamander, there will always be the dark so long as there is also light." she screamed out before she could no longer withstand the pain and started to scream out in pain. But what she said brought him to a complete stop as he went over it in his head, coming to a conclusion that brought a small smile to his face.

"You may be correct about that, but after I'm through with my mission all of the big players on your side will no longer be on the board." he stated before heading in the direction that he knew their base was hidden in.

 **A few minutes later:**

"Halt, who goes there!" shouted out one of Tartaros's grunts, with a large group of fellow grunts right behind him. Now with the entire group taking notice of the lone figure heading towards them, with the figure's cloak obstructing any definitive features.

"Stop where you are or your next step is going to be your last!" shouted another one as they all readied their spells or weapons as the figure came to a standstill.

"Is that any way to treat your Master?" asked the figure in a deep voice, which caught most of the people blocking his way off guard.

"There is no way you're Torafuzar, KILL HIM!" shouted someone within the group of grunts. Causing the next few moments to be complete chaos as they all attacked the lone figure, leaving nothing but a large cloud of dust in their wake.

"So much for being our Master." stated the first one to speak up with an amused tone to his voice.

" **EARTH DRAGON'S DEVOURING JAWS!** " came the calm and deep voice of the stranger from before. The poor man was just quick enough to jump to the side as the earth underneath most of the group opened wide and swallowed them whole. With the ones just barely getting out of it, witnessing the ground closing back up, but with the addition of the sides now having jagged teeth making it actually look like the snapping jaw of a colossal dragon. Unfortunately this left the few remaining there to now be treated with an unexpected shower of blood from their former colleagues.

"You are correct about me not being that bone headed shark freak, I'm the one that Mard Geer was trying to find this whole time with the sole purpose of handing this guild of his over to." said the figure now standing in front of the completely terrified dark mages. One of them thought that this would be the opportune time to slip away, but before he took more than three steps the figure smashed one of his fists into the ground while releasing some magic and mumbling something. The next second they all watched as the fleeing man was quickly reduced to nothing but ashes thanks to a pillar of crimson flames.

"But I'm willing to bet that all of you already know me by another name, and that would be Salamander." he said enjoying that they became even more terrified of him after hearing that. **"FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"** he shouted before engulfing all but one of them in his crimson flames that made quick work of them.

"Oh dear god, please don't kill me." screamed the only surviving member of Tartaros on the outside of this base of theirs.

"Then it's your lucky day my friend, because you get to have the honor of going back to the rest of your guild and telling them that END has returned. And he'll be visiting each and every one of them shortly, oh and don't forget to tell them that I hope they put up a better fight than the rest of your guild has done so far." said Salamander before placing his seal on the man and then heading towards the entrance of the guild with a crazed grin on his lips.

After he entered the base the poor dark mage watched in complete disbelief as the canyon's walls then swallowed up the entrance as if it wasn't even there. But before he could do anything else he was then hit with the most excruciating pain that he has ever been subject to in his life as his magic was being ripped from him.

 **Two days later at Fairy Tail:**

"Master I don't like this at all." stated Erza as she and a few others kept their eyes peeled on the doors.

"I don't either, but they said that whatever they found at Rising Tide needed to be kept a secret at all costs." he replied with a slight frown as he scratched his chin.

"What could be so important that they decided to cut off all communications with us and walk all the way back here?" asked Mira, a question that everyone was trying to figure out. But since no one could come up with a good answer they all remained at the guild anxiously awaiting the Research Team's return.

"I'd have to say that it most likely deals with Subject 8." stated Ultear, only for a good portion of the guild to look at her suspiciously.

"I believe that you are correct on that Ultear, and given your situation with Salamander I'm assuming they didn't want to risk you finding that out until they were back at the guild." said Makarov as he glared at a few of the members that were still giving her a hard time.

"Even if they hadn't I am not supposed to send him an update until the end of the month." she replied with a small smile sent to Meredy who was sitting right next to her. The young girl was still extremely grateful that Natsu returned Ultear to an appropriate age again and subsequently back to her.

"I still don't understand how you can stand working for him." stated Gray with a disgusted look on his face as he tried to ignore Juvia doting on him because of his injuries.

"Would you have preferred some random dark mage constantly watching all of you!" snapped Meredy as she glared at the ice wizard.

"Easy Meredy, I don't blame him for being upset with me and I would probably be doing the exact same thing if I was in his position. But to answer your question Gray, I can stand working for him because he gave me a third chance at living a good life. And if all that he expects for me to do in return is give him the occasional update on all of you and any information about a dark guild. Then I would be a complete moron to not take him up on an offer like that." explained Ultear with a confident grin, since Gray was smart enough to know that anyone would have done the same if given an opportunity like that.

But before anyone else could weigh in on the discussion the guild's doors were opened by the group of three mages that they were all waiting for. Everyone was about to celebrate their return, but just one look at their expressions showed them all that this was definitely not the occasion for that. So they all just remained silent as the group slowly made their way over to Makarov with that glum look remaining on their faces.

"What did you three find?" asked Makarov as they came to a stop in front of him. Without even looking up at him Levy and Lucy both turned away and headed towards an empty booth, not acknowledging anyone on their way there. Making the rest of the guild really concerned since those two have never just walked away from Master after being asked a direct question like that.

"I've got a feeling that I'm not going to like what you found out am I?" asked the elderly guild Master, already knowing that it had to be bad to cause the two women to act like that.

"You definitely aren't." replied Freed, who looked just as shaken by whatever they found as the other two.

"What is it?" he asked, now wishing that they hadn't given them permission to go there in the first place. Because as the saying goes, ignorance is bliss and it looked like the whole research team would rather go back to that then knowing whatever it is they found out at Rising Tide.

"We now know who Subject 8 is." stated Freed as he set a large lacrima on the table that could easily contain a month's worth of footage. If the guild was quiet before, that was nothing compared to how it was as they all looked at the lacrima wanting to watch it as soon as possible. But none of them made a move to do that, as they looked at the three members who had most likely already viewed it. And judging from how they were all acting right now it definitely couldn't be very pleasant to watch.

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry with how long it took me to update this story but that's just life for you. So as you can probably tell the next chapter is going to finally reveal once and for all who Subject 8 is, while also most likely having Salamander taking down the rest of Tartaros once and for all. After that is all wrapped up I'll probably start setting up for the Alvarez Arc, which I have done a little bit of in the previous chapter. Well that sums it up for this note of mine so feel free like always to send me a review or pm and tell me what you thought. And if you do I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.**

 **Oh and if you would like me to update faster or possibly start a new story I have information about my page that I set up on my profile page.**

 **Until the next Chapter**

 **Digem Out!**


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